HC Deb 12 March 1997 vol 292 cc253-4W
Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Health and Safety Executive last examined the(a) hours of work and (b) conditions of service of train drivers; and if he will make a statement. [19653]

Mr. Watts

Hours of work and other conditions of service are primarily matters for agreement between employers and staff. However, excessive hours of work on the railways which could pose a danger to safety are subject to the Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations and an associated approved code of practice. As part of its responsibility for enforcing these regulations, the Health and Safety Executive keeps train drivers hours of work under review. A train operating company wishing to change drivers' hours of work has to submit a material revision of its safety case to the infrastructure controller for acceptance, and any revisions which are accepted are sent to the HSE before they can take effect.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the recommendations of(a) the Rail Industry Advisory Commission and (b) the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport on train drivers' hours; and if he will make a statement. [19694]

Mr. Watts

The Health and Safety Executive published an approved code of practice—ACOP—on hours of work for safety critical staff on the railways on 1 November 1996, which is contained in updated guidance on the Railway (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994. The ACOP was developed in co-operation with the Commission's Railway Industry Advisory Committee and comments were received from the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport and others, during consultation on proposals for the ACOP.

The ACOP's principal recommendations are that employers should (i) set limits on the hours of work of their safety critical staff and ensure those limits are observed (ii) carry out a risk assessment before increasing existing limits on hours or work or making any significant change to an existing working time pattern—for example, to a system of shift working—and (iii) monitor safety performance after a change has been made, to confirm that there are no adverse effects on safety.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has recently commissioned into the relationship between train drivers' hours and conditions of work and accidents; and if he will make a statement. [19652]

Mr. Watts

The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate is currently co-sponsor with Railtrack and the British Railways Board of research into safety related incidents and the point at which they occur during a shift. The research will consider signals passed at danger and personal accidents. This work is continuing and it is too early to report any results.

HSE has recently commissioned a research project aimed at validating an improved method of assessing the risks of fatigue associated with the hours of work of staff undertaking safety critical work on the railways, including train drivers.