E005:07 12 February 2007
In response to recent media coverage of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) safety record, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), Justin McCracken, today said:
"The rates of accidents and injuries in HSE are low compared with other organisations, as you would expect. HSE gave this information, and explained it, to the journalist concerned who contacted us about accident rates.
The resulting media coverage is misleading and inaccurate. It does not compare like with like. Instead it takes all HSE injuries (even the most minor ones) and then compares them with only the most serious injuries in industry. There are far more minor accidents (that, by law, do not need to be reported) occurring within industry than serious ones, so it is not surprising that the conclusions drawn are misleading.
For example, if you compare like with like, HSE had a rate of around 2.4 reportable accidents for every 1,000 employees which is several times lower than that in equivalent service sector organisations.
Your readers should also be made aware that the health & safety "inspector", caught shaving whilst at the wheel of his car and banned from driving, is not an HSE employee.
All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office
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