Health and Safety Executive

HSE Publishes Health and Safety Statistics for 2001/02

HSE Press Release E234:02 - 10 December 2002

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today published the latest statistics on workplace safety, work-related ill-health and enforcement action in Great Britain. Health and Safety Statistics Highlights 2001/02 presents the top level statistics, while more detailed data and commentary are available on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics; the Highlights document itself is at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overpic.htm. (Other statistics have been published earlier in the year: please see Notes to editors).

Workplace fatality and injury

For workplace injuries, the new figures include 2001/02 data on non-fatal injuries notified by employers and others under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), supplemented by injury statistics for 2000/01 from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS and RIDDOR sources jointly give the picture on trends in rates of non-fatal injury. The LFS rates of reportable injury are not subject to the underreporting which affects the statistics and trends of injuries collected through RIDDOR.

HSE introduced the Incident Contact Centre (ICC) as a single point of incident reporting for employers and others in April 2001, as part of the Government's e-programme. The ICC offers easier reporting and options - for example, over 25% of reports come via telephone. As with any new system, HSE and the ICC have conducted more quality assurance in the first year, which has led to a delay in publishing the statistics of reported non-fatal injuries.

The quality assurance is designed to ensure correct recording, for example of "major injuries" as defined in RIDDOR, both when the injuries are reported and in follow-up validation. This year the validation could not check a small number of notified major injury cases where there was insufficient information. As a result we believe there is a small overstatement in the number of reported major injuries in 2001/02.

The main features of the injuries statistics are:

  • The number of worker fatalities decreased by 15% to 249 in 2001/02 from 292 in 2000/01. The rate of fatal injury dropped to 0.88 from 1.03 (per hundred thousand workers). The figure had risen by 30% in 2000/01, after the general downward trend in the 1990s. The rate of fatal injury is still higher than expected had that downward trend continued.

  • The rate of reported major injury to employees dropped by 0.6% to 109.5 in 2001/02 from 110.2 in 2000/01. The rate of over 3 day injury to employees dropped by 6% to 506.3 in 2001/02 from 536.9 in 2000/01. These changes mainly reflect changes in the level of reporting.

  • The LFS rates of reportable injury are given as a three year averages to smooth sampling fluctuations. The averaged LFS rate of reportable injury in 2000/01 was 1530 (per hundred thousand workers). However, the rate of reported employee non-fatal (major plus over 3 day) injury was 647 in 2000/01, suggesting that employers report about 42% of reportable injuries to their employees.

  • The rate of reported non-fatal injury to self- employed people was 41 in 2000/01, and indicates that self employed people report less than 3% of reportable injuries.

  • Between 1994/95 and 1998/99, the averaged LFS rate of reportable injury dropped by 14% but has risen since then by 3%. The averaged LFS rate for 2001/02 is expected not to be very different.

  • The rate of employee reported non-fatal injury dropped by 7% between 1994/95 and 1998/99 but - unlike the LFS rate - has continued to drop, being 11% lower by 2001/02. This recent reduction coupled with the small rise in the averaged LFS rates suggest that reporting levels have declined in the past three years. Within this there is early evidence that the Incident Contact Centre has resulted in:
  • improved reporting in areas where underreporting has been most severe (self- employed people, agriculture and some service industries); and
  • a relative improvement in the reporting of major injuries compared with over 3 day injuries (because the rate of major injury is steady in 2001/02 while that of over 3 day injury dropped).
  • In 2000/01, the LFS rate of reportable injury was 1510 in Scotland and 1600 in Wales, compared with 1530 for Great Britain. Research by the Institute of Employment Research showed that the variation between regions in terms of rates of injury was mainly determined by job characteristics in the regions such as industries and occupations; there was no evidence for a specifically "regional effect" acting on the risk of non-fatal injury.

Work-related ill health

The new statistics on work-related ill health include headline results from the 2001/02 Self-reported Work-related Illness (SWI) household survey, together with ill health data from other sources including specialist doctors in the Occupational Disease Intelligence Network (ODIN) and assessed benefit cases under the Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS). The main points are:

  • The SWI01/02 survey estimates that 2.3 million individuals in Great Britain were suffering from an illness in the last 12 months which they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work. This prevalence estimate includes long standing as well as new cases.

  • Broad comparisons (based on a restricted coverage) between the latest figures and those from HSE's previous three SWI surveys suggest that the rate of self-reported work-related illness prevalence in 2001/02 was somewhat higher than in 1998/99, but still below the levels in 1990 and 1995.

  • SWI01/02 estimates that 33 million working days were lost in the previous 12 months through illness caused or made worse by work. This is higher than previously estimated (18 million, from the SWI95 survey) but some of this is due to technical differences. It also appears to reflect an increase in absence durations: the average time off work among all those suffering was 23 days in 2001/02 compared with 14 days in 1995.

  • For trends in the incidence (new cases) of work-related ill health, it is more helpful to look at data from other sources such as ODIN and IIS. These cover musculoskeletal disorders and stress (see below under Priority Programmes) and the other main causes and kinds of work-related ill health. For example:

  • The number of deaths and new IIS disablement benefit cases due to asbestos-related diseases has continued to rise: mesothelioma deaths stand at over 1600 per year and asbestosis benefit cases at around 460. This reflects the effects of historic exposure levels; mesothelioma deaths at ages below 55 are falling.

  • The number of new IIS disablement benefit cases of occupational deafness has fallen over time (although the number rose slightly to 263 in 2001), as have the exposure levels of lead workers under medical surveillance (1.1% of male workers had blood-lead measured at or above the suspension levels in 2000/01, the lowest ever recorded).

  • The estimated numbers of new cases of occupational asthma and of contact dermatitis based on reports to ODIN specialist doctors have remained broadly constant in recent years, at nearly 1000 cases and 3000-3500 cases per year respectively.

Revitalising Health and Safety targets

The statistics on health and safety at work inform the measurement of progress against the targets for reducing work-related ill health, injuries and working days lost set in the Revitalising Health and Safety strategy. HSE's approach to progress measurement is detailed in a Statistical Note published in June 2001. Among other things, this states that progress will be assessed from trends estimated in statistical models, and that - for ill health - existing data sources will need to be refined and new ones developed, with a judgement on progress being made by integrating data from several of them. At this early stage in the strategy period it is not possible to make a full assessment of progress, but the following can be said with respect to the three targets: these statements, together with the material in Health and Safety Statistics Highlights 2001/02, comprise the "annual progress report" promised in the Statistical Note.

Fatal and major injuries

  • The target is to reduce the indicator by 10% in the 10 years to 2009/10, and by 5% by 2004/05. The indicator includes an uprating factor for underreporting of major injuries.

  • In the past 5 years, between 1996/97 and 2001/02, the indicator dropped 6% but most of this had occurred by 1999/2000, the base year of the Revitalising programme.

  • Since 1999/2000 the indicator has fluctuated by small amounts that are not statistically significant. There is no discernible improvement since the base year.

  • The indicator increased by 2.8% in 2001/02, reflecting an increase in the uprating factor for underreporting. This does not allow for the overstatement of major injuries in the validation process or the relative improvement in the reporting of major injuries following the introduction of the Incident Contact Centre (ICC). Initial estimates of these effects suggest that under the old system the indicator would have shown a small net drop in 2001/02. A fuller assessment of the effect of the ICC on reporting levels will be made next year when the averaged Labour Force Survey rates for 2001/02 are available.

Work-related ill health

  • The target is to reduce the incidence rate (new cases) by 20% in the 10 years to 2009/10, and by 10% by 2004/05.

  • The latest information from self-reporting (SWI) surveys suggest that the scale of the problem to be addressed by the strategies is now greater than previously estimated.

  • Information from other sources, including surveillance by specialist doctors (ODIN), is consistent with the view that for several important kinds of work-related ill health there has been no significant decline in the numbers of cases reported in recent years and that for some - notably stress and related disorders - the numbers have increased.

Working days lost due to injuries and ill health

  • The target is to reduce the rate per 100 000 workers by 30% in the 10 years to 2009/10, and by 15% by 2004/05.

  • Again, the latest information from self-reporting surveys suggest that the scale of the problem is now greater than previously estimated: a total of around 40 million days lost per year in 2000-02 compared with an earlier estimate, based on surveys conducted in 1995-98, of 24 million. Most of the difference relates to work-related ill health, but some of it is due to technical differences.

Priority Programmes

The statistics also provide information on the eight Priority Programmes identified by the Health and Safety Commission. For example:

In Agriculture

in 2001/02 there were 39 worker fatalities. The rate of worker fatal injury dropped by 9% in 2001/02 but has fluctuated in the 1990s with no improvement. There was a significant upward trend in the LFS rate of reportable injury, increasing by 37% between 1996/97 and 2000/01. In summary for agriculture, there is no progress in rates of fatality and worsening rates of non-fatal injury.

In Construction

in 2001/02, there were 79 worker fatalities. The rate of worker fatal injury dropped 28% in 2001/02. The rate of fatal injury generally dropped until 1998/99 but rose substantially in the next two years to 2000/01. The LFS rate of reportable injury has fluctuated with small changes between 1996/97 and 2001/02, suggesting no real change to the rate of non-fatal injury in construction. The rate of major injury has decreased since 1999/2000 but this may reflect a declining level of reporting. In summary for construction, the latest fatality figure is an improvement but there is little recent progress in the rate of non-fatal injury.

In Health Services

there were 3 fatal injuries in the past five years. The averaged LFS rate of reportable injury decreased by 33% in the four years to 2000/01, and the rate of reported injury decreased by 19%. There is a general downward trend in the rate of non-fatal injury in health services, coupled with improved reporting levels.

Slip/trip injuries

represent the commonest kind for employee major injuries at 37% in 2001/02, rising from 33% in 2000/01. The number rose from 9054 to 10118. Both number and percentage share have increased gradually in the past five years. The increase in 2001/02 is partly due to new guidelines that clarify the distinction between a slip/trip on the level and a fall from a height, in particular for incidents on floors/kerbs/steps/stairs. Regular sample checks show that most slip/trip incidents are correctly coded as such. Slip/trip injuries have increased in percentage share of employee over 3 day injuries since 1996/97 and accounted for 23% in 2001/02.

Falls from a height

represent the second commonest kind for major injuries (15%). The percentage share remained steady at 19% until 2000/01 and then dropped to 15%, in part due to the new guidelines clarifying the recording of the kind of accident. Such clarification is expected to contribute to a reduction in low falls but not necessarily to high falls. Low falls increased in percentage share between 1998/99 and 2000/01 (11.1 to 11.6%). The figure dropped to 7.8% in 2001/02, partly reflecting the new guidelines for recording falls and slips. High falls (over 2 metres) decreased in number and percentage share of major injuries between 1998/99 (5.8%) and 2000/01 (5.3%), and decreased further in 2001/02 (3.8%). It is expected that some of this reduction is real and not due to the new guidelines, given that these emphasise the recording of the hazard (i.e. working at a height).

In 20001/02, being struck by a vehicle accounted for 959 (or 2.6%) of employee major injuries. The number and percentage have dropped since 1999/2000.

For work-related musculoskeletal disorders

, the estimated prevalence - based on broadly comparable figures from SWI surveys - was higher in 2001/02 than in 1998/99 but lower than a decade ago. The incidence (new cases) estimated from SWI01/02 was 240 000 in the previous 12 months. Because of technical differences, it is not possible to compare this with SWI data for earlier years to make a judgement about trends; however, the estimated number of first visits to ODIN specialist doctors appears to have remained fairly stable in recent years at around 8000 a year.

For work-related stress and related disorders, the estimated prevalence has increased over time and is now around double the level it was in 1990, based on broadly comparable SWI figures. The incidence (new cases) of stress, depression and anxiety was estimated from SWI01/02 as 265 000 in the previous 12 months. This cannot be directly compared with estimates from earlier SWI surveys, but the estimated number of new cases reported by ODIN specialist doctors has been rising and was almost 7000 in 2001.

Enforcement

For enforcement activities, key figures are:

  • In 2001/02 HSE issued 11 009 enforcement notices, nearly the same number as in 2000/01 (11 056). The number of enforcement notices issued by HSE dropped in the early 1990s from 11 914 in 1992/93 to 7444 in 1996/97 but has risen since then.

  • The number of enforcement notices issued by local authorities dropped substantially from nearly 27 000 in 1992/93 to 5170 in 1996/97 but has fluctuated since then. There were 5810 in 2000/01.

  • In 2001/02, there were 2035 informations laid by HSE, 3% higher than in 2000/01 (1973). The number of informations laid dropped from 2157 in 1992/93 to 1490 in 1996/97 but has risen in most years since then. The average fine increased to £8284 in 2001/02 from £6226 in 2000/01 (partly reflecting a few relatively high fines). The average fine has increased throughout the 1990s.

Notes to editors

1. Since 1992/93, statistics relating to health and safety at work have been published in an annual volume Health and Safety Statistics and the Health and Safety Commission's Annual Report. This year for the first time the top level statistics are being released in a slim document and the details made available simultaneously on the HSE website.

2. Several sets of statistics have already been released this year. Statistics of fatalities for 2001/02 were published in July 2002 in the Fatal Injury Bulletin, which is re-published today on the website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overpic.htm and now includes figures on fatalities to members of the public. The latest top level statistics on the health and safety work of local authorities are being made available today on the website; statistics of fatalities for 2001/02, along with injury and enforcement statistics for 2000/01, were released in the HELA National Picture 2002. Full details of HSE's enforcement action were released in November 2002 in the Offences and Penalties Report, which is available on the website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/off01-02.pdf.

3. As well as giving data for Great Britain, the statistics released today include statistics for Wales, Scotland and the regions of England. Statistics Briefings for each of these are available on the website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/regions/index.htm. The statistics also include an updated factsheet about deaths from the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma in the period 1986-2000 for counties, their constituent local authorities, and unitary authorities within Great Britain. This supersedes a previous factsheet for the period 1986-95.

4. The Revitalising Health and Safety strategy statement, launched by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chair of the Health and Safety Commission in June 2000, set national targets to reduce the rate of fatalities and major injuries, the incidence rate of work-related ill health and the rate of working days lost from work-related injury and ill health. The targets relating to ill health also featured in Securing Health Together: A long-term occupational health strategy for Great Britain, launched by the Health and Safety Commission and Executive, in association with other government departments, in July 2000.

5. New arrangements for National Statistics were also launched by the Government in July 2000, to enhance the integrity and quality of official statistics. The National Statistics 'badge' - which is on Health and Safety Statistics Highlights 2001/02 - means that the statistics concerned must be produced to high professional standards, subject to regular quality assurance reviews, and published free from political interference. To achieve this, the National Statistics arrangements include an independent Statistics Commission, a Code of Practice (released in October 2002), and mechanisms for consultation with stakeholders.

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Updated 12.01.12