§ Andrew BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an assessment of trends in the number of inspections carried out by local offices of the Health and Safety Executive since 1997. [84777]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownThe information asked for is not readily available. However, the number of inspection contacts made by each of the divisions within HSE's Field Operations Directorate (FOD) since 1997 is in the table:
87WThe decrease in the numbers of inspections is directly related to the increasing number of investigations (of both incidents and complaints) and the complexity of those investigations. Investigations take much longer than inspections and so it is inevitable that more investigations mean fewer inspections. HSE has also taken action to increase their other preventive work including seminars, conferences and awareness days.