New year, renewed call to reduce workplace death and injury in Newport, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire

Date:

31 December 2010

Release No:

-

Employers in Newport, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire are being urged to start the New Year as they mean to go on when it comes to health and safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning that there is no room for complacency despite the total number of work-related fatalities across Britain being at a record low.

According to figures released for 2009/10, there were no work-related fatalities recorded in Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire, compared to one fatality in Newport.

The recorded number of major workplace injuries was down across all four local authorities this year. There were 73 recorded major injuries in Newport in 2009/10, compared to 119 in 2008/09.

In Torfaen, the number of major injuries recorded this year was down to 30 compared to 46 in 2008/2009.

In Blaenau Gwent, there were 30 recorded major injuries this year, compared to 34 a year ago. Monmouthshire maintained their rate of recorded major workplace injuries with 45 recorded both this year and last year.

There were 1,479 serious workplace injuries recorded in Wales as a whole last year, compared to 1,697 in 2008/9, and seven deaths, two more than the previous year.

Terry Rose, Director for HSE in Wales previous year.

"The fall in numbers of workers killed or injured through their work is encouraging but we must also remember that each death results in a family missing a loved one this festive season.

"Employers cannot be complacent; they must stay vigilant and learn the lessons from the past to ensure they protect their workers in the future. Putting in place simple, straightforward health and safety measures can saves lives. It is not good for companies or their workers if they are off through an injury or ill-health."

Notes to editors

1. HSE publishes a full range of workplace health and safety statistics. These can be viewed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm
   
2. The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take three or more consecutive days off their normal work to recover; a work-related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work-related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence (which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done).
3. 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
   
4. A breakdown of the statistics by local authority for the past two years is given below.

Press enquiries

Regional reporters should call the appropriate Regional News Network press office.

Reported Injuries by Local Authority, Time Period and Severity