Health and Safety Executive (Hansard, 24 July 1996)

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many HSE prosecutions there were in agriculture during 1995–96; and what was the(a) average, (b) highest and (c) lowest fine. [39124]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
Proceedings instituted by HSE's field operations division inspectorates in the agricultural sector 1995–96 were:

Informations laid: 177

Convictions: 114

(a) Average fine per conviction: £1,095

(b) Highest fine £10,000 (on two occasions)

(c) Lowest fine £50 (on one occasion).

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many(a) improvement notices and (b) prohibition notices were issued by the HSE in agriculture for each of the past 10 years. [39126]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
The information is as follows:

Notice type

Year Improvement Deferred prohibition Immediate prohibition Total

1986–87 5,607.00 172.00 1,660.00 7,439.00

1987–88 4,094.00 153.00 1,087.00 5,334.00

1988–89 3,671.00 56.00 1,134.00 4,861.00

1989–90 3,848.00 58.00 1,004.00 4,910.00

1990–91 3,737.00 99.00 1,027.00 4,863.00

1991–92 3,493.00 122.00 950.00 4,565.00

1992–93 3,034.00 98.00 978.00 4,110.00

1993–94 2,574.00 35.00 998.00 3,607.00

1994–95 2,458.00 37.00 695.00 3,190.00

1995–96¹ 1,539.00 21.00 599.00 2,159.00

¹ Provisional.

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average fine for all industry in 1995–96 resulting from HSE prosecutions. [39125]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
The provisional figure for the average fine per conviction arising from prosecutions by the HSE was £2,567 in 1995–96.

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in respect of how many of the recorded deaths in agriculture in 1995 mere were HSE prosecutions; and what was the(a) average, (b) highest and (c) lowest fine in those cases. [39123]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
In the year commencing 1 January 1995, of the 42 deaths in the agriculture sector, five resulted in prosecutions. The average fine was £2,367.
The highest fine was £5,000 and the lowest was £100.

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average frequency of visits by HSE inspectors to a farm where there are(a) five or less, (b) six to 10, (c) 11 to 50 and (d) more than 50 employees. [39127]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Notice type
Year	Improvement	Deferred prohibition	Immediate prohibition	Total
1986–87	5,607.00	172.00	1,660.00	7,439.00
1987–88	4,094.00	153.00	1,087.00	5,334.00
1988–89	3,671.00	56.00	1,134.00	4,861.00
1989–90	3,848.00	58.00	1,004.00	4,910.00
1990–91	3,737.00	99.00	1,027.00	4,863.00
1991–92	3,493.00	122.00	950.00	4,565.00
1992–93	3,034.00	98.00	978.00	4,110.00
1993–94	2,574.00	35.00	998.00	3,607.00
1994–95	2,458.00	37.00	695.00	3,190.00
1995–96¹	1,539.00	21.00	599.00	2,159.00
¹ Provisional.