§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the average fine in cases where employers in marine and waterways were found guilty of breaches of health and safety legislation.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe fines in the successful prosecutions initiated by the Department of Transport on marine occupational health and safety matters since 1980 have varied generally between £50 and £750.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prohibition notices were issued by his Department to marine and waterway employers since 1980.
§ Mr. McLoughlinPowers to issue prohibition notices were given to the Department under the Merchant Shipping Act 1984. The total number of prohibition notices issued from that date to the end of 1990 is 78.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many improvement notices were issued by his Department to marine and waterway employers since 1980.
§ Mr. McLoughlinPowers to issue improvement notices were given to the Department under the Merchant Shipping Act 1984. The total number of improvement notices issued from that date to the end of 1990 is 210.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions of employers in the marine and waterways sectors for failing to produce safety policies have been undertaken by his Department in the last 10 years.
§ Mr. McLoughlinEmployers are required to produce a safety policy under the Merchant Shipping (Health and Safety: General Duties) Regulations 1984. To date there have been no prosecutions for failure to comply with that provision.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for statutory regulation of working time for marine workers; and what steps he is506W taking to implement International Labour Organisation convention 147 in respect of the regulation of working time for marine workers.
§ Mr. McLoughlinDraft regulations together with a draft code of practice on seafarers' hours of work were recently circulated to representative organisations for comment.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes are planned in the way in which statistics on health and safety of marine workers arc collected.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe marine accident investigation branch is responsible for the collection and recording of accidents to seamen and is in the process of reviewing the system. It is too early to say what changes will be made but the object is to identify the essential factors in an incident and record them in a readily retrievable form.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to change the list of possible causes of marine accidents to exclude placing responsibility on victims.
§ Mr. McLoughlinNo changes are proposed in the existing policy, which is that the apportionment of liability is not the purpose of marine accident investigation. However, to exclude personal fault or error from the possible causative factors would be unrealistic.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make it his policy in all accident recording for marine workers for the length of the continuous duty period preceding the accident, the lengths of time away from work available for rest and for continuous sleep, and the arrangements for rest and sleep within the 24-hour cycle for all persons involved to be recorded.
§ Mr. McLoughlinCertain information concerning hours worked prior to an accident is already collected. Consideration is being given to whether this aspect needs to be widened to collect more detailed information.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many marine surveyors are in post; and what is their establishment.
Mr. McLouglinA total of 192 marine surveyors are currently in post in the Department against a complement of 204.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many inspections of British and non-British registered ships took place during the last 10 years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe number of general inspections of United Kingdom ships and port state control inspections of foreign-registered ships for the years 1983–90 are as follows; equivalent data for earlier years are not available.
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Year United Kingdom ships Non United Kingdom ships 1983 581 2,557 1984 587 2,529 1985 731 2,532
Year United Kingdom ships Non United Kingdom ships 1986 629 2,788 1987 716 2,122 1988 1810 1,831 1989 1 23,342 1,697 1990 3n/a 2,087 1 Financial year figures 1988–89 onwards. 2 Following the Marchioness disaster it was decided to both increase numbers of inspections of United Kingdom ships and revise the statistical basis of their calculation. The figures for 1989–90 reflect this change of policy. 3 Not available.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions of employers in the waterways and marine sectors have been initiated by his Department for health and safety breaches in the last 10 years.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe Department of Transport has initiated 13 successful prosecutions on marine occupational health and safety matters since 1980.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will introduce statutory regulations for working time to all crewed ships regardless of size.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe industry is being consulted on the possible introduction of statutory regulations for seafarers' hours of work. The draft regulations circulated recently for comment apply to seagoing United Kingdom ships—other than fishing vessels and pleasure craft, neither of which are included in the International Labour Organisation convention No. 147—and to foreign ships in United Kingdom ports.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Department last made a systematic assessment of the health and safety record of the waterways sector; and where the results of such an assessment were published.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe general occupational health and safety of merchant seamen is under continuous assessment but the Department of Transport has made no specific study of the waterways sector. Responsibility for the health and safety of many land-based workers on waterways falls to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will establish a port safety forum of employers, unions, safety inspectorates, harbourmasters and port authorities to assist in the avoidance of accidents.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe National Accident Prevention Committee, run by the British Ports Federation, has provided such a forum for over 25 years.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to transferring the marine inspectorate to the Health and Safety Executive.
§ Mr. McLoughlinLord Cullen did not recommend any changes in Department of Transport responsibilities under the Merchant Shipping Acts and I am not considering any.
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§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to extend regulations and other legislation, pursuant to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act to cover workers on British-registered ships.
§ Mr. McLoughlinIt would not be practicable to extend precisely the same health and safety legislation to workers on ships and on land, but it is the Department's policy to provide a level of protection for workers on United Kingdom-registered ships corresponding to that provided for land-based workers.