§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many Health and Safety Executive inspectors are permanently dedicated to all aspects of work on the Channel tunnel;
(2) how many health and Safety Executive inspectors are based at the Channel tunnel complex of works.
§ Mr. NichollsHealth and Safety Executive inspectors who have inspection responsibility for the Channel tunnel complex are based in the executive's south-east area local office at Ashford, Kent.
Three inspectors are engaged mainly on Channel tunnel work. They have site inspection responsibilities and also, together with specialists from the executive's technology division based at East Grinstead, advise the Translink Joint Venture consortium on health and safety standards during construction of the tunnel.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the industrial accidents which 799W have occurred during work on the construction of the Channel tunnel giving, respectively, the dates, details of the accidents, the names of people injured and the results of any investigations carried out.
§ Mr. NichollsThe information requested is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member in due course.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to receive the Health and Safety Executive report on the accident which led to the death of Andrew McKenna in January on a Channel tunnel construction site; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsInspectors from the Health and Safety Executive are still investigating the circumstances which led to the death of Andrew McKenna on 23 January 1989. The investigation will continue until all available evidence has been considered.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he proposes to take to reduce the dangers facing construction workers on the Channel tunnel.
§ Mr. NichollsThe responsibility to provide safe working conditions at the Channel tunnel rests with the contracting companies. The Health and Safety Executive will continue to pursue its inquiries to the highest levels and any enforcement action with determination where safety measures do not achieve the standards required.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will ask the Health and Safety Executive to publish an interim report within two weeks on the inquiry they announced into the accident which killed John Symes, a construction worker on the Channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement on the result of the existing inquiry.
§ Mr. NichollsNo. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive are carrying out an investigation into the circumstances of the accident in the Channel tunnel on 6 February 1989. Information from the investigation will be made available to the employer, employees' representatives and to the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority.
§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has about the death of John Symes as a result of a recent accident on a Channel tunnel construction site; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsJohn Symes was crushed between an overhead travelling crane and the fixed steelwork of the tunnel boring machine frame on 6 February 1989. Inspectors from the Heath and Safety Executive have begun an investigation into the incident.