Construction Industry (Safety) (Hansard, 26 June 1990)

§ 42. Mrs. Fyfe
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to improve safety in the construction industry; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Nicholls
Prime responsibility for health and safety rests with employers and employees in the workplace. As part of a continuing process to promote long-lasting change in the industry, the Health and Safety Commission has proposed regulations to:

(a) strengthen management of health and safety on construction sites;

(b) require all employers with more than five employees to obtain relevant safety advice.

The Health and Safety Executive is also targeting inspection activity where it will be most effective. Inspectors will focus on more hazardous activities like roofwork and demolition and on the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.

§ 44. Mr. Rooker
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have been killed and injured on construction sites in the past five years.

§ Mr. Nicholls
The information requested is set out in the following table:
192W

Injuries to employees in the construction industry reported to all HSC/E enforcing authorities 1984 to 1988–89^{1 3}

Date of accident Fatal Major⁴ Over three day

1984 100 2,288 ²—

1985 104 2,239 ²—

⁵1986–87 99 2,736 16,468

⁵1987–88 103 2,767 16,622

^{2 5}1988–89 100 2,865 16,240

¹ Provisional.

² Not available.

³ Reported to HSE's Factory and Agricultural Inspectorates and all other relevant enforcing authorities, under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1980 (NADOR) and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1985 for later years.

⁴ As defined in NADOR for the years 1984 to 1985. The introduction of RIDDOR widened the definition of the major injury category thereby making direct comparison of figures with those for earlier years impossible.

⁵ Years beginning 1 April.

Injuries to employees in the construction industry reported to all HSC/E enforcing authorities 1984 to 1988–89^{1 3}
Date of accident	Fatal	Major⁴	Over three day
1984	100	2,288	²—
1985	104	2,239	²—
⁵1986–87	99	2,736	16,468
⁵1987–88	103	2,767	16,622
^{2 5}1988–89	100	2,865	16,240
¹ Provisional.
² Not available.
³ Reported to HSE's Factory and Agricultural Inspectorates and all other relevant enforcing authorities, under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1980 (NADOR) and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1985 for later years.
⁴ As defined in NADOR for the years 1984 to 1985. The introduction of RIDDOR widened the definition of the major injury category thereby making direct comparison of figures with those for earlier years impossible.
⁵ Years beginning 1 April.