Crackdown launched on dangerous scaffolding in Manchester

Date:

22 November 2010

Release No:

HSE/NW/20Scaffolding

Health and safety inspectors will be out in force in Manchester on Thursday 25 November in a bid to tackle dangerous scaffolding.

Falls from height are the biggest single cause of workplace deaths in the UK, with two deaths and 563 serious injuries in Manchester alone last year.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will spend a day making unannounced visits to construction sites across the city as part of an ongoing initiative tackling the issue.

Both construction workers and members of the public can be put at risk of being seriously injured or even killed if scaffolding collapses. Injuries can also occur when building materials fall through gaps where there are no safety boards or netting.

Polly Tomlinson, a Principal Inspector for HSE in Greater Manchester, said:

"We are concerned that companies may be trying to cut down on costs or to undercut competitors by not using suitable scaffolding or other safety equipment. Quite simply, they are putting their own and other people's lives at risk as a result.

"HSE will not tolerate poor health and safety standards on construction sites. When it is necessary to safeguard workers or the public, inspectors will not hesitate to take strong enforcement action."

More information on construction safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/construction.

Notes to editors

1. The following table lists the number of serious injuries from falls in each local authority area in Greater Manchester during 2008/9, across all industry sectors. Three day injuries refer to injuries which required workers to take at least three days off work.
   
   

   Local authority area	Deaths	Major	Three-day	Total
   Bolton	0	17	34	199
   Bury	0	16	16	102
   Manchester	2	57	107	563
   Oldham	0	10	28	173
   Rochdale	0	12	22	161
   Salford	0	15	32	183
   Stockport	0	18	17	167
   Tameside	0	14	22	150
   Trafford	0	15	26	177
   Wigan	0	20	23	214
   Greater Manchester	2	194	327	2,089

2. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk

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