Health and Safety Executive (Hansard, 17 December 1990)

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the concept of safety audit, referred to in the Health and Safety Executive's last annual report, is applied to the Health and Safety Executive and its staff.

§ Mr. Forth
No. The HSE recommends the use of safety auditing techniques for organisations where the hazards and risks arising from their activities justify this approach.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the Health and Safety Executive staff are currently working on indoor air quality; and what was the total number of visits paid by inspectors to sample or monitor indoor air quality at employers' premises.

§ Mr. Forth
Many HSE staff provide policy, technical or inspectorial input into aspects of indoor air quality as part of their duties, and it is not possible to give a precise figure for those currently involved.
The HSE does not separately identify visits paid by inspectors in connection with indoor air quality. However, a sample survey has suggested that, in the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990, inspectors now based in the HSE's field operations division made some 6,500 indoor air pollution visits to investigate topics including Legionnaire's disease, radon and sick building syndrome.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many samples were taken by the Health and Safety Executive for examination for legionella contamination in wet cooling towers; and how many by local authorities in the last 12 months.

§ Mr. Forth
Information on the number of samples taken by the Health and Safety Executive for legionella contamination in wet cooling towers is not centrally available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The HSE does not hold information on the number of such samples taken by local authorities.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what training has been received by the Health and Safety Executive agricultural inspectorate on the enforcement of the Food and Environment Protection Act; and if he will give dates of the training, the duration of the training and specify the training given to inspectors in the Sheffield area office.

§ Mr. Forth
Inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate attended a one-day training course on the enforcement of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985—FEPA—between February and April 1986. Inspectors also received a further one-day's training between November 1986 and February 1987 on the regulations made under FEPA. Arrangements are made for all agricultural inspectors who joined the HSE after this training had been completed to attend a two-day training course which now includes the enforcement of FEPA and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988—COSHH.
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Two one-day courses were held on 12 and 13 March 1986 and 12 and 13 November 1986 on the background, structure and enforcement of FEPA and its associated regulations and codes of practice for agricultural inspectors in the Sheffield area. One inspector recruited by HSE and posted to the area after this training had been completed attended a two-day course on 24 to 26 October 1988 on the enforcement of FEPA and COSHH.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the Health and Safety Executive's scientific staff joined from(a) the public sector and (b) industry in the years 1988–90; and how many in each category still work for the Health and Safety Executive.

§ Mr. Forth
The number of scientific staff who joined in the years 1988–90 is 74, of whom 68 still work for the Health and Safety Executive. Previous experience is taken into account at the recruitment stage and for career development, but it is the nature of the work undertaken by applicants which is of greatest importance, not where they were employed. The Health and Safety Executive does not keep such information on its personnel records system.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the Health and Safety Executive's field force's time is spent on(a) planned basic inspection of fixed sites, (b) planned basic inspection of construction sites, (c) section 6 casework, (d) complaints, (e) accident investigations, (f) hazard surveys and (g) other duties.

§ Mr. Forth
The information requested is set out for 1989–90, the latest year for which information is available.

Percentage

Planned basic inspection of fixed sites¹ 26.0

Planned basic inspection of construction sites 5.3

Section 6 casework 1.5

Complaints 3.7

Accident investigations² 10.3

Hazard surveys³ 5.3

Other duties 47.9

¹ Excludes follow-up inspections.

² Includes the investigation of dangerous occurrences.

³ This term is imprecise but has been taken to mean field work on the assessment of systems and designs, including that associated with the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations and with the preparation of advice to planning authorities about developments at or near major hazard sites.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many premises are recorded under the Health and Safety Executive's inspection rating system under each of the categories 0 to 5; and how many are recorded as not having had an inspection within the last five years.

§ Mr. Forth
The rating system used by inspectorates in the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division FOD makes no provision for recording premises by category.
A total of 754,525 fixed premises are registered with FOD's agricultural, factory and quarries inspectorates. On 1 April 1990, a total of 363,302 were recorded as not having received a planned inspection within the last five years. These include many premises where the risks are low and which have not yet entered the field for a planned 77W inspection under the rating system. They could also include premises which may have been visited in this period for purposes other than a planned inspection.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what work will be cut, delayed, or contracted out to enable the Health and Safety Executive's research and laboratory services division to achieve its stated aim of devoting more resources to organisational and human factors; what expert systems are planned; and how many staff will be devoted exclusively to this priority.

§ Mr. Forth
The proposed expansion in the area of organisational and human factors will not take place at the expense of other work. Instead, the in-house strength of the RLSD in this area will be increased by redirecting vacancies arising in work areas that have reached maturity or by means of new scientific posts created through efficiency savings. The normal practice of contracting out part of the programme will continue in all work areas in order to draw on a wider range of expertise.
Expert systems are planned in the following areas: the investigation of wire-rope deterioration and failure, provision of hazard information relating to frictional ignition of gases and vapours, clerical control of laboratory analytical services, selecting the correct statistical test for a particular set of data, venting of dust explosions, and diagnosis of computer malfunctions in chemical process plant. One person will be devoted exclusively to expert systems, while various other staff will have the work as part of their remit.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the Health and Safety Executive's expenditure in the years 1975, 1978 and 1985 to 1990 has been provided directly by the Government as grant in aid.

§ Mr. Forth
The proportions of the Health and Safety Executive's expenditure provided by grant in aid in each year were:—

Percentages

1975–76 98

1978–79 96

1985–86 95

1986–87 94

1987–88 92

1988–89 89

1989–90 87

1990–91 76

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current proportion of staff time spent by the Health and Safety Executive in(a) Crown court and (b) magistrates courts prosecutions.

§ Mr. Forth
The information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the electrical equipment certification service and the research and laboratory services division of the Health and Safety Executive.

§ Mr. Forth
Continuing changes in the operating environment of the electrical equipment certification service—EECS—including developments in the European78W Community, have raised the question how the EECS can be organised most effectively and whether a change of status is necessary. The unions representing EECS staff have been informed of this review and the Health and Safety Executive has invited the EECS management board to consider a range of options for the future. When the management board has expressed its view, the HSE will consider whether any substantial change in the status of EECS appears to be justified. If so, the preferred option will be investigated in more detail and interested parties will be consulted about it.
The research and laboratory services division will continue to generate much of the scientific and technological base that underpins HSE's policy and operational activities. As in the past, the division's programme will adapt to developing priorities resulting from technological advances, EC developments, new HSE commitments, and so on.

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidance remains to be issued by the Health and Safety Executive on (i) the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, (ii) noise, (iii) pesticides and (iv) air quality.

§ Mr. Forth
The Health and Safety Executive and the industry advisory committees that advise the Health and Safety Commission keep the application of health and safety regulations under continual review and relevant guidance is produced and updated as necessary. Further guidance planned will cover the following:
(i) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)

control measures

carcinogens

approved code of practice for the prevention or

control of Legionellosis

micro-organisms

peripatetic workers

sensitisers

(ii) noise

employees leaflet

(iii) pesticides

fumigation using phosphine

fumigation using methyl bromide

approved code of practice for the safe use of pesticides in non-agriculture industries

sulphuric acid used in agriculture use of wood preservatives in buildings

(iv) air quality

guidance on "sick building syndrome" is under consideration

In addition, further industry specific guidance on the COSHH and noise regulations will be produced by HSE's national interest groups in collaboration with industry and trades unions.

	Percentage
Planned basic inspection of fixed sites¹	26.0
Planned basic inspection of construction sites	5.3
Section 6 casework	1.5
Complaints	3.7
Accident investigations²	10.3
Hazard surveys³	5.3
Other duties	47.9
¹ Excludes follow-up inspections.
² Includes the investigation of dangerous occurrences.
³ This term is imprecise but has been taken to mean field work on the assessment of systems and designs, including that associated with the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations and with the preparation of advice to planning authorities about developments at or near major hazard sites.

	Percentages
1975–76	98
1978–79	96
1985–86	95
1986–87	94
1987–88	92
1988–89	89
1989–90	87
1990–91	76