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EMPLOYMENT
Special Needs
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidelines he has issued to the training and enterprise councils on the employment of people with special needs.
Mr. Jackson : I have placed a contractual requirement on training and enterprise councils to ensure that they pay particular attention to provision for those with special needs in their local community. My Department has produced material for TECs to promote good practice in the training of people with special needs which will help this group to take advantage of appropriate employment opportunities.
Nuclear Installations Inspectorate
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the impact on the work load of the nuclear installations inspectorate of the reduction of the pressurised water reactor programme and the life-extension of older nuclear stations.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive reviews annually the staffing of its nuclear installations inspectorate. On 1 December 1990 there were 159 nuclear
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inspectors in post in the inspectorate. Current plans to recruit to a level of 172 inspectors take into account the reduction of the pressurised water reactor programme and the additional work associated with the life extension of older nuclear stations.Health and Safety Executive
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the concept of safety audit, referred to in the Health and Safety Executive's last annual report, is applied to the Health and Safety Executive and its staff.
Mr. Forth : No. The HSE recommends the use of safety auditing techniques for organisations where the hazards and risks arising from their activities justify this approach.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the Health and Safety Executive staff are currently working on indoor air quality ; and what was the total number of visits paid by inspectors to sample or monitor indoor air quality at employers' premises.
Mr. Forth : Many HSE staff provide policy, technical or inspectorial input into aspects of indoor air quality as part of their duties, and it is not possible to give a precise figure for those currently involved.
The HSE does not separately identify visits paid by inspectors in connection with indoor air quality. However, a sample survey has suggested that, in the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990, inspectors now based in the HSE's field operations division made some 6,500 indoor air pollution visits to investigate topics including Legionnaire's disease, radon and sick building syndrome.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many samples were taken by the Health and Safety Executive for examination for legionella contamination in wet cooling towers ; and how many by local authorities in the last 12 months.
Mr. Forth : Information on the number of samples taken by the Health and Safety Executive for legionella contamination in wet cooling towers is not centrally available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The HSE does not hold information on the number of such samples taken by local authorities.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what training has been received by the Health and Safety Executive agricultural inspectorate on the enforcement of the Food and Environment Protection Act ; and if he will give dates of the training, the duration of the training and specify the training given to inspectors in the Sheffield area office.
Mr. Forth : Inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate attended a one-day training course on the enforcement of the Food and Environment Protection Act
1985--FEPA--between February and April 1986. Inspectors also received a further one-day's training between November 1986 and February 1987 on the regulations made under FEPA. Arrangements are made for all agricultural inspectors who joined the HSE after this training had been completed to attend a two-day training course which now includes the enforcement of FEPA and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988--COSHH.
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Two one-day courses were held on 12 and 13 March 1986 and 12 and 13 November 1986 on the background, structure and enforcement of FEPA and its associated regulations and codes of practice for agricultural inspectors in the Sheffield area. One inspector recruited by HSE and posted to the area after this training had been completed attended a two-day course on 24 to 26 October 1988 on the enforcement of FEPA and COSHH.Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the Health and Safety Executive's scientific staff joined from (a) the public sector and (b) industry in the years 1988-90 ; and how many in each category still work for the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. Forth : The number of scientific staff who joined in the years 1988-90 is 74, of whom 68 still work for the Health and Safety Executive. Previous experience is taken into account at the recruitment stage and for career development, but it is the nature of the work undertaken by applicants which is of greatest importance, not where they were employed. The Health and Safety Executive does not keep such information on its personnel records system.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the Health and Safety Executive's field force's time is spent on (a) planned basic inspection of fixed sites, (b) planned basic inspection of construction sites, (c) section 6 casework, (d) complaints, (e) accident investigations, (f) hazard surveys and (g) other duties.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is set out for 1989-90, the latest year for which information is available.
|Percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Planned basic inspection of fixed sites<1> |26.0
Planned basic inspection of construction sites |5.3
Section 6 casework |1.5
Complaints |3.7
Accident investigations<2> |10.3
Hazard surveys<3> |5.3
Other duties |47.9
<1>Excludes follow-up inspections.
<2>Includes the investigation of dangerous occurrences.
<3>This term is imprecise but has been taken to mean field work on
the assessment of systems and designs, including that associated
with the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard Regulations and
with the preparation of advice to planning authorities about
developments at or near major hazard sites.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many premises are recorded under the Health and Safety Executive's inspection rating system under each of the categories 0 to 5 ; and how many are recorded as not having had an inspection within the last five years.
Mr. Forth : The rating system used by inspectorates in the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division FOD makes no provision for recording premises by category.
A total of 754,525 fixed premises are registered with FOD's agricultural, factory and quarries inspectorates. On 1 April 1990, a total of 363,302 were recorded as not having received a planned inspection within the last five years. These include many premises where the risks are low and which have not yet entered the field for a planned
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inspection under the rating system. They could also include premises which may have been visited in this period for purposes other than a planned inspection.Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what work will be cut, delayed, or contracted out to enable the Health and Safety Executive's research and laboratory services division to achieve its stated aim of devoting more resources to organisational and human factors ; what expert systems are planned ; and how many staff will be devoted exclusively to this priority.
Mr. Forth : The proposed expansion in the area of organisational and human factors will not take place at the expense of other work. Instead, the in-house strength of the RLSD in this area will be increased by redirecting vacancies arising in work areas that have reached maturity or by means of new scientific posts created through efficiency savings. The normal practice of contracting out part of the programme will continue in all work areas in order to draw on a wider range of expertise.
Expert systems are planned in the following areas : the investigation of wire-rope deterioration and failure, provision of hazard information relating to frictional ignition of gases and vapours, clerical control of laboratory analytical services, selecting the correct statistical test for a particular set of data, venting of dust explosions, and diagnosis of computer malfunctions in chemical process plant. One person will be devoted exclusively to expert systems, while various other staff will have the work as part of their remit.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the Health and Safety Executive's expenditure in the years 1975, 1978 and 1985 to 1990 has been provided directly by the Government as grant in aid.
Mr. Forth : The proportions of the Health and Safety Executive's expenditure provided by grant in aid in each year were :--
$
|Percentages
------------------------------------
1975-76 |98
1978-79 |96
1985-86 |95
1986-87 |94
1987-88 |92
1988-89 |89
1989-90 |87
1990-91 |76
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current proportion of staff time spent by the Health and Safety Executive in (a) Crown court and (b) magistrates courts prosecutions.
Mr. Forth : The information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the electrical equipment certification service and the research and laboratory services division of the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. Forth : Continuing changes in the operating environment of the electrical equipment certification service--EECS--including developments in the European
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Community, have raised the question how the EECS can be organised most effectively and whether a change of status is necessary. The unions representing EECS staff have been informed of this review and the Health and Safety Executive has invited the EECS management board to consider a range of options for the future. When the management board has expressed its view, the HSE will consider whether any substantial change in the status of EECS appears to be justified. If so, the preferred option will be investigated in more detail and interested parties will be consulted about it.The research and laboratory services division will continue to generate much of the scientific and technological base that underpins HSE's policy and operational activities. As in the past, the division's programme will adapt to developing priorities resulting from technological advances, EC developments, new HSE commitments, and so on.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidance remains to be issued by the Health and Safety Executive on (i) the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, (ii) noise, (iii) pesticides and (iv) air quality.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive and the industry advisory committees that advise the Health and Safety Commission keep the application of health and safety regulations under continual review and relevant guidance is produced and updated as necessary. Further guidance planned will cover the following :
(i) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
control measures
carcinogens
approved code of practice for the prevention or control of Legionellosis
micro-organisms
peripatetic workers
sensitisers
(ii) noise
employees leaflet
(iii) pesticides
fumigation using phosphine
fumigation using methyl bromide
approved code of practice for the safe use of pesticides in non-agriculture industries
sulphuric acid used in agriculture use of wood preservatives in buildings
(iv) air quality
guidance on "sick building syndrome" is under consideration In addition, further industry specific guidance on the COSHH and noise regulations will be produced by HSE's national interest groups in collaboration with industry and trades unions.
Pesticides
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest estimate of the delay between application for, and approval of, pesticide evaluation ; and what is the backlog of substances requiring reappraisal.
Mr. Forth : Applications for approval for non-agricultural pesticides are processed by the Health and Safety Executive. For new pesticides it takes between one and two years from the date the fee is received until I and other Ministers grant approval based on advice from the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides. For
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reformulated products or changes in methods of application or use the period is usually as little as three to nine months.The HSE has initiated a programme to review all pesticide active ingredients on a rolling programme. There are 77 active ingredients which have yet to be reviewed under this programme.
Evaluations for agricultural pesticides are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
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Specialist Inspectors
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many specialist inspectors work in each of the seven field consultant groups in the disciplines of (a) construction, (b) electrical, (c) occupational hygiene, (d) chemical, (e) mechanical and (f) explosives.
Mr. Forth : The number of specialists in each discipline for each field consultant group is shown in the table.
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FCG Location Discipline
|Construction|Electrical |Occupational|Chemical |Mechanical |Explosives
|Hygiene
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Grinstead |1 |2 |1 |3 |2 |0
Luton |1 |2 |2 |1 |3 |0
Cardiff |1 |2 |2 |3 |5 |0
Birmingham |1 |2 |1 |2 |2 |0
Leeds |2 |1 |1 |3 |3 |0
Manchester |2 |2 |2 |3 |3 |0
Edinburgh |2 |1 |2 |1 |2 |0
Note: All explosives problems encountered by field consultant groups are referred to the explosives
inspectorate in the HSE's technology division.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of specialist inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive ; how many vacancies exist ; and how many specialist inspectors have left the organisation in the last two years.
Mr. Forth : On 1 December 1990, the HSE employed 208.5 specialist inspectors and had 26.5 vacancies. During the years 1988-89 and 1989-90, a total of 35 specialist inspectors left HSE.
Agricultural Premises
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the the Secretary of State for Employment how many children were killed on agricultural premises in the years 1978 to 1989.
Mr. Forth : The table shows the number of fatal injuries in the agricultural industry to non-employed children aged one to 15 years as reported to the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agriculture inspectorates between 1979 and 1989-90 :
Year |Number of
|fatalities
------------------------------------
1979 |24
1980 |10
1981 |13
1982 |13
1983 |5
1984 |4
1985 |10
1986/87<2> |10
1987/88<2> |7
1988/89<2> |10
1989/90<2><1> |6
<1>Provisional.
<2>Year commencing 1 April.
Information is not available for 1978.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many accidents caused or related to cattle were reported to the Health and Safety Executive in 1974, 1985 and 1989 ; and what proportion of total agricultural accidents these represent.
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Mr. Forth : The information requested is not available for 1974 and 1985. Injuries involving boars cannot be separated from cattle and the number of injuries in agriculture involving bulls, other cattle and boars reported to the Health and Safety Executive's factory and agricultural inspectorates for 1988-89 and 1989-90 is provided in the table together with the proportion of total injuries reported in agriculture that they represent :
Year<1> and Severity of injury
employment
status
|Fatal |Major |Over |Total
|3 day
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89
Employee |2 |22 |51 |75
Self-employed |2 |8 |8 |18
Non-employed |- |5 |<3> |5
Percentage of
injuries in
agriculture |7 |6 |5 |5
1989-90<2>
Employee |- |26 |45 |71
Self-employed |- |7 |5 |12
Non-employed |2 |2 |<3> |4
Percentage of
injuries in
agriculture |4 |7 |4 |5
<1> Year commencing 1 April.
<2> Provisional.
<3> Not reportable.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many Health and Safety Executive staff are working specifically on the ergonomics of agricultural machinery.
Mr. Forth : At present there are no Health and Safety Executive staff working specifically on the ergonomics of agricultural machinery. However, the matter is one that is taken fully into account by inspectors during the course of inspection visits to agricultural premises and, more particularly, during visits to manufacturers and importers when considering compliance with section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
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Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what backlog of uninspected premises exists for the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate.Mr. Forth : There is no backlog. The agricultural inspectorate uses an inspection rating system to help target its preventive inspection programme but this is also influenced by seasonal factors, peripatetic activities and the employment status of premises.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural inspectorate are taken for not using appropriate guards on machinery.
Mr. Forth : Information is only readily available for 1987-88 ; in that year 151 out of 416 prosecutions taken by Her Majesty's agricultural inspectorate were in connection with the fencing and construction of machinery. Information for more recent years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Peripatetic Workers
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when guidance on the application of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations to peripatetic workers is to be issued.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive intends to publish specific guidance on the application of the COSHH regulations to peripatetic workers during 1991. This will supplement existing HSE publications on the regulations themselves and other guidance on the application of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act to peripatetic workers.
Health and Safety Offences
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what monitoring he carries out of the level of fines given by magistrates for health and safety offences ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : The Health and Safety Executive already monitors the average level of fines in all courts, and publishes the results annually. More recently the HSE has also begun to monitor fine levels in magistrates courts, and I have asked it to let me have the results of that exercise in due course.
Occupational Health
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will update the 1976 employment medical advisory service survey which ascertained the number of physicians and nurses employed in industry who have specialist qualifications in occupational health ; (2) what action has been taken by the Health and Safety Executive on the proposals presented in the 1976 EMAS document entitled, "Occupational Health Services--The Way Ahead".
Mr. Forth : The aim of the 1977 publication "Occupational Health Services--The Way Ahead" was to stimulate debate. This led up to an inquiry by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. The Committee's 1984 report on occupational health and
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hygiene services called for a voluntary code of practice to extend the provision of occupational health services. To meet this the Health and Safety Commission--HSC--has embarked on an action programme to encourage employers to review their occupational health needs and make suitable arrangements to obtain advice. This programme includes published guidance and promotional activities intended to raise awareness of occupational health. Where employers are already making adequate provision they are encouraged to make their facilities more widely available. The programme has also involved local campaigns by HSE staff, and industry specific initiatives such as seminars, conferences and publications. During 1991, the HSC is due to evaluate the action programme and review the nature and extent of occupational health provision in Great Britain.The results will be used in drawing up recommendations on the future of the action programme and whether the existing approach to the provision of occupational health should be continued.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what occupational health statistics are collected by the Health and Safety Executive ; and what plans there are to extend the statistics collected.
Mr. Forth : "Health and Safety Statistics 1988-89", published as a supplement to the Employment Gazette for November 1990--Vol. 98, No. 11-- gives a full description of the available statistics relating to occupational health. It covers information collected by the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985, and statistics derived from other sources.
The Health and Safety Executive has initiated two measures to supplement these statistics :
(a) a "trailer" to the 1990 labour force survey which asked respondents whether they had suffered from any work-related illness during the previous year. Data from this survey will be available by mid-1991.
(b) a consultant-based register of work-related dermatitis which started operation on a trial basis on 1 August 1990.
The Health and Safety Commission will be reviewing the 1985 regulations next year, and will be considering proposals for possible changes to the arrangements for the reporting of occupational disease by employers.
Industrial Premises, London
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of industrial premises in the Health and Safety Executive London North area have (a) fewer than 25 employees and (b) more than 500 employees.
Mr. Forth : In the Health and Safety Executive London north area, 73.6 per cent. of fixed premises currently registered with the factory inspectorate have fewer than 25 employees and 9.4 per cent. have more than 500 employees.
Mechanical Presses
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what number of accidents at the tools of mechanical presses occurred in the years 1965, 1970 to 1974, 1979, 1985 and 1989.
Mr. Forth : Such accidents are not separately identified in the Health and Safety Executive's current databases of
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reported occupational injuries. Relevant information which is taken from annual surveys up to 1974 and further surveys in 1979 and 1985 is shown in the table. No such survey was carried out in 1989.
Accidents at the
tools of power
presses and press
brakes<1>
|Number
---------------------
1965 |441
1970 |203
1971 |159
1972 |153
1973 |152
1974 |145
1979 |48
1985 |25
<1> Reportable
injuries notified to
Her Majesty's
factory
inspectorate;
severity is not
recorded.
Factory Inspectors
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many factory inspectors have less than five years' experience in each of the main inspection grades.
Mr. Forth : The main inspection grades are considered to be inspector of factories 1B and inspector of factories 1A (principal inspector). Out of a total staff in post figure of 289 inspectors of factories 1B, 97 have less than five years' experience in the grade. Out of a total staff in post figure of 162 inspectors of factories 1A, 57 have less than five years' experience in the grade.
Opinion Surveys
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list any opinion surveys conducted by, for or on behalf of his Department since 1 January 1985 giving the date and purpose of each survey.
Mr. Jackson : The information requested in the form required could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the various parts of the Employment Department group produce annual reports which provide information on research projects carried out for the Department. I would be happy to provide the hon. Member with reports for the relevant period if he so wished.
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