§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate for the last three years of the number of employees who have been subject to attacks at work; and if he will make a statement.[16104]
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§ Mr. MichaelThe 1996 British Crime Survey (BCS) estimates that there were 770,000 incidents of violence against people who were at work in 1995. The BCS is conducted on a biennial basis, so there are no figures available for 1994 or 1996.
The Health and Safety Executive commissioned a series of questions in the Office for National Statistics August and October 1995 Omnibus surveys. This included questions on violence at work. Six per cent. of male workers and eight per cent. of female workers reported that they had been attacked by a member of the public in their current job. Half of these respondents had been attacked between one and four times in the last 12 months, a further 10 per cent. had been attacked at least five times in the same period. Just over a third of nurses and a quarter of security and protective services staff reported being attacked by a member of the public while in their job. Care workers and "other educational and welfare workers" (not teachers) also reported significantly higher rates than average. The full results of this survey were published on 13 November 1997 in "Self-reported working conditions in 1995".