Britain's work-related fatalities down, but still not acceptable, says HSC Chair

HSE Press Release C032:02 - 25 July 2002

Provisional statistics for the year 2001/2002 indicate a decrease of 15 per cent in the number of fatal injuries among Britain's workers, with 249 deaths compared to 292 in 2000/01. The rate of fatal injury dropped from 1.03 to 0.88 per 100,000 workers over the same period.

The number of fatal injuries to employees fell from 213 to 204, while fatal injuries to the self-employed fell from 79 to 45. A breakdown of the figures is available at : http:/www/hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/

Of the 249 fatalities, 79 occurred in the construction industry and 39 in agriculture. In terms of type of fatality, 68 deaths were due to falls from height, 43 from moving or flying objects, and 40 from moving vehicles.

Commenting on the figures, Health and Safety Commission (HSE) Chair Bill Callaghan said:

"Last year saw a considerable increase in the number of work-related fatalities in Britain - and I would have been bitterly disappointed to see the numbers remain at that level.

"However, it is too soon to draw conclusions on whether the 2001/2002 figures represent a long-term downward trend. For example, the figures are still 13 per cent higher than two years ago. Every death is one too many - and each causes pain and suffering for the victim, their friends and family. The levels are still unacceptable.

"Our task now is to work for sustained improvement. This can only be achieved through partnership between employers, workers, trade unions and safety representatives. It is vital that they all work with us to achieve the Government and HSC's health and safety targets.

"I want to focus on three key areas. First, our research shows that fatalities occur because employers fail to carry out risk assessments and take appropriate action to minimise those risks associated with their work activities. This is not an optional extra - employers must do risk assessments or face the legal and moral consequences.

"Second, I want more companies to set their own improvement targets and to include health and safety performance in their annual reports. In an age when corporate reputation is king, no firm can afford the stigma of work-related death, injury and ill-health. Quite simply, it is bad for business.

"Third, I want every company to follow our guidance on directors' duties. This will ensure that health and safety is taken seriously in the Board Room and that businesses are, at very least, complying with their legal and moral responsibilities."

Mr Callaghan believed that the Health and Safety Executive should continue to tackle the biggest hazards and worst-performing sectors of industry through its priority programmes initiative, particularly as the majority of fatalities are continuing to occur in priority programme areas.

Commenting on the construction industry, Mike Cosman of HSE's Construction Division said:

"I am encouraged to see the number of fatalities dropping from 105 in 2000/01 to 79 in 2001/02, but this only represents a return to the average of the mid-1990s. At the top level of the industry, we are seeing a greater commitment to improving health and safety following last year's Construction Summit.

"However, at site level, and in particular with small contractors, performance is not good enough. The recent construction blitzes around Britain resulted in prohibition notices to stop dangerous work being served on nearly half the sites we visited, while the companies who appeared in court earlier this month represented a cross-section of the industry and demonstrate the scale of the problems we still face."

Notes to editors

1. On 7 June 2000, HSC Chair Bill Callaghan and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launched the Revitalising Health and Safety initiative. This aims to achieve, by the year 2010, the following national improvement targets: reduce the incidence of working days lost from ill-health by 30 per cent; reduce the incidence of people suffering from work-related ill-health by 20 per cent; and reduce the rate of fatal and major injury accidents by 10 per cent. There is an additional target of achieving half of each improvement by the year 2004.

2. The HSC has identified eight priority areas where improvement is most needed in order to meet the Revitalising Health and Safety improvement targets. These are: construction; agriculture; the health service; falls from heights; slips and trips; work-related transport; work-related stress; and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The priority programmes are included in the HSC's strategic plan for 2001/04.

3. 'Directors' responsibilities for health and safety' guidance was launched by the HSC in July 2001. It provides good practice advice on health and safety for directors and board members of both public and private sector organisations. The guidance is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg343.pdf.

4. In March 2001 Ministers and the HSC wrote to Britain's top 350 firms, asking them whether they: have a Board Room director with responsibility for promoting health and safety issues; set health and safety improvement targets; and reported on health and safety performance in their annual reports. By May 2002, 103 companies had responded to the challenge. Guidance to firms on health and safety performance reporting is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/revitalising/annual.htm.

5. In spring and summer 2002, the HSE carried out 1,113 construction site blitzes around Britain, resulting in 460 prohibition notices and 97 improvement notices being served. Nine firms from the South East were prosecuted by the HSE, resulting in total fines of more than £28,000. More prosecutions are in the pipeline.

6. Due to new arrangements for health and safety reporting the HSE will be publishing full details of all fatalities, including work-related fatalities to members of the public, and all work-related major and over-three-day injuries, in a report to be published in November 2002.

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