Government health and safety targets

The latest report on progress against the national targets for improving health and safety performance, based on provisional data up to 2007/08, is published at:

• Achieving the Revitalising Health and Safety Targets: Statistical Progress Report, October 2009

Earlier reports on progress were published at:

• October 2008
• November 2007
• November 2006
• November 2005
• November 2004
• November 2003
• December 2002

The full progress report and other papers which fed into the 2004/05 mid-point judgement of Revitalising Health and Safety were published at:

• Full progress report
• Peer review of injuries judgement
• Peer review of ill health judgement
• Under-reporting of injuries in the manufacturing sector
• Trends in ill health data from The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR)

The principles which HSE will use when assessing progress against the targets were set out in:

• Statistical Note on Progress Measurement: Update based on data published in Health and Safety Statistics 2000/01
• Achieving the Revitalising Health and Safety Targets: Statistical note on progress measurement

Further details of the targets themselves are given in:

• Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy Statement
• Securing Health Together: A long-term occupational health strategy for England, Scotland and Wales

The methods to be used for measuring progress against HSE's Public Service Agreement (PSA) from 2004/05 are described in:

• Spending Review 2004: Public Service Agreement (PSA): Technical Note

Data issues and discontinuity

The self-reported illness incidence rate has fluctuated significantly in recent years. A number of methodological factors have been examined for their possible contribution to these changes, but most of these make no contribution to the observed changes, and none make a major impact.

• Analysis of the trends in self-reported work-related ill health with special reference to the trend reversal in 2006/07

Investigation suggests a discontinuity in the RIDDOR major injury numbers in 2003/04. Work is continuing both to quantify the size of the discontinuity and to adjust the data for this and for any identifiable trends in reporting.

• The impact of the introduction of the Incident Contact Centre and associated processing changes in HSE on the trend in the rate of major accidents as reported under the RIDDOR
• Further analysis of the impact of the Incident Contact Centre on the trend in the rate of major injuries