HC Deb 20 February 1990 vol 167 cc644-5W
Mr. Bill Michie

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many improvement and prohibition notices have been issued in each of the Health and Safety Executive's areas for the last four quarters for which information is available; and how many of these have been identified as warranting public disclosure.

Mr. Nicholls

The table gives details of the enforcement notices issued by each area of Her Majesty's factory and agricultural inspectorates for the four quarters of 1987–88. Information about the enforcement notices issued by other Health and Safety Executive inspectorates could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Environment and Safety Information Act 1988 requires enforcing authorities to maintain public registers of details of improvement and prohibition notices which have public safety implications. The Act came into force on 1 April 1989 and was not retrospective. Prior to that date, no separate register of the minority of enforcement notices warranting public disclosure was kept.

Table 1
Enforcement notices issued by Her Majesty's factory inspectorate and Her Majesty's agricultural inspectorate
HSE area code HSE area 1 April 1987 to 30 June 1987 1 July 1987 to 30 September 1987 1 October 1987 to 31 December 1987 1 January 1988 to 31 March 1988
Improvement Deferred prohibition Immediate prohibition1 Improvement Deferred prohibition Immediate prohibition1 Improvement Deferred prohibition Immediate prohibition1 Improvement Deferred prohibition Immediate prohibition1
01 South West 138 3 14 111 2 19 162 — 62 137 3 20
02 South 92 3 31 36 1 35 84 — 50 67 — 42
03 South East 65 — 24 65 1 47 70 2 53 79 5 51
04–06 Greater London 55 1 29 130 3 66 117 4 142 149 11 60
07 East Anglia 78 1 31 84 2 34 86 — 130 87 2 61
08 Northern Home Counties 56 — 66 64 2 99 62 — 60 67 3 50
09 East Midlands 159 1 33 74 1 46 88 4 92 117 1 42
10 West Midlands 31 — 32 36 — 39 28 1 35 44 — 31
11 Wales 206 6 28 98 12 43 181 5 43 212 2 39
12 Marches 102 2 30 122 2 60 133 3 76 134 — 56
13 North Midlands 81 — 38 78 6 45 74 12 55 82 1 29
14 South Yorkshire and Humberside 75 11 74 83 — 62 100 5 38 51 2 25
15 West and North Yorkshire 68 19 42 75 8 44 75 4 50 90 2 49
16 Greater Manchester 51 — 35 107 3 84 124 1 33 91 5 64
17 Merseyside 10 1 10 35 0 50 37 1 16 54 — 46
18 North West 74 1 28 71 — 28 47 — 125 99 — 187
19 North East 50 2 35 54 11 55 69 7 51 76 7 56
20 Scotland East 144 2 58 100 5 66 81 — 37 159 — 222
21 Scotland West 51 2 109 59 2 109 60 1 137 71 1 84
Total 1,586 55 747 1,482 61 1,031 1,678 50 1,285 1,866 45 1,214
1 Reflects the major enforcement initiatives aimed at small construction sites.