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Workplace Accidents (Children)
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many children were (a) involved and (b) killed in workplace accidents in each of the past 20 years. [137830]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 10 November 2000]: The table shows the number of fatal and non-fatal injuries to children in workplace accidents reported to HSE and local authorities for the period 1986-87 to 1999-2000. The figures include both children at work and those not at work, but whose injuries arise out of or in connection with work activities. Data prior to 1986-87 are not available from HSE's databases.
| Year | Fatal injuries | Non-fatal injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 1986-87 | 36 | 10,510 |
| 1987-88 | 34 | 8,651 |
| 1988-89 | 39 | 8,271 |
| 1989-90 | 42 | 6,547 |
| 1990-91 | 29 | 5,716 |
| 1991-92 | 24 | 6,420 |
| 1992-93 | 62 | 5,272 |
| 1993-94 | 44 | 5,626 |
| 1994-95 | 45 | 6,132 |
| 1995-96 | 22 | 6,255 |
| 1996-97 | 35 | 17,200 |
| 1997-98 | 30 | 13,941 |
| 1998-99 | 19 | 11,210 |
| 1999-2000(7) | 23 | 10,298 |
(5) Children are defined as individuals aged one year and up to and including 15 years of age. A search criterion of 0 years produces records where age is not known, as well as children under the age of one. These data cannot be dissagregated.
(6) Injuries reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1985 (for the years 1986-87 to 1995-96) and RIDDOR 1995 (for the years 1996-97 to 1999-2000). Data reported to HSE's Field Operations Directorate, Nuclear Safety Division, Hazardous Installations Directorate from 1999-2000 (Chemical and Hazardous Installations Division 1996-97 to 1998-99) and local authorities. Data reported to HSE's Railway Inspectorate can be searched only by passenger or employee and therefore have not been included.
(7) Provisional.
1. Non-fatal includes major and over three day injuries as defined by RIDDOR 1995.
2. Data from 1 April to 31 March.
3. Injury figures from 1996-97 cannot be directly compared to previous years' figures due to the introduction of RIDDOR 1995.
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Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many prosecutions there were involving (a) workplace accidents and (b) workplace deaths involving children in each of the past 20 years. [137831]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 10 November 2000]: The table shows the number of prosecutions involving (a) workplace accidents to children and (b) workplace deaths involving children for the period 1996-97 to 1999-2000. Data prior to 1996-97 are not readily available.
| Informations laid | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Following a fatality | Following a non-fatal injury |
| 1996-97 | -- | 9 |
| 1997-98 | 12 | 16 |
| 1998-99 | 8 | 7 |
| 1999-2000(8) | 1 | 36 |
(8) Provisional
Notes:
1. Reportable means as reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 1995).
2. For 1996-97 to 1999-2000 proceedings instituted by HSE's Field Operations Directorate (excluding Railways Inspectorate), Nuclear Safety Division, Hazardous Installations Directorate (Chemical and Hazardous Installations Division before 1999-2000). In the time available, data reported to HSE's Railway Inspectorate have not been included.
3. Children are defined as individuals aged one year and up to and including 15 years of age. A search criterion of 0 years produces records where age is not known, as well as children under the age of 1. These data cannot be disaggregated.
4. These data include prosecution action taken between 1996-97 and 1999-2000 following fatalities and injuries occurring between 1996-97 and 1999-2000. All data relating to 1999-2000 are provisional.
5. Data from 1 April to 31 March.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning there were in each of the last 20 years. [137825]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 10 November 2000]: From the information readily available, the following are the numbers of fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning from all fossil-fuelled appliances in the UK, from 1985-98:
| Year | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 46 |
| 1986 | 46 |
| 1987 | 52 |
| 1988 | 39 |
| 1989 | 42 |
| 1990 | 46 |
| 1991 | 51 |
| 1992 | 50 |
| 1993 | 57 |
| 1994 | 55 |
| 1995 | 51 |
| 1996 | 69 |
| 1997 | 42 |
| 1998 | 47 |
Source:
Department of Trade and Industry
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Fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning relating to the supply and use of flammable gas in GB are as follows:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1981-82 | 98 |
| 1982-83 | 42 |
| 1983-84 | 57 |
| 1984-85 | 60 |
| 1985-86 | 65 |
| 1986-87 | 35 |
| 1987-88 | 48 |
| 1988-89 | 41 |
| 1989-90 | 34 |
| 1990-91 | 30 |
| 1991-92 | 33 |
| 1992-93 | 41 |
| 1993-94 | 29 |
| 1994-95 | 30 |
| 1995-96 | 29 |
| 1996-97 | 31 |
| 1997-98 | 28 |
| 1998-99 | 37 |
| 1999-2000 | (9)26 |
(9) Provisional
Notes:
1. Mainly piped gas but also includes bottled LPG
2. Data for fatal injuries involving carbon monoxide under the Gas Act 1972 (for the years 1981/82-1985/86), the Reporting of Injuries and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1985 (for the years 1986/87-1995/96). RIDDOR 1995 (for the years 1996/97-1990/2000). They do not include carbon monoxide fatalities from other sources.
Source:
Health and Safety Executive
Energy Efficiency
Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made by Government Departments towards the target of improving energy efficiency by 20 per cent. in the nine years to 31 March. [138406]
Mr. Meacher: By 31 March 1999, energy efficiency in Government Departments had improved by just under 19 per cent. since 1990-91, as measured by the Total Cost Indicator.
Full details for each department are given in the tables. The tables give a summary. All tables include some revisions to figures for earlier years revealing slightly lower performance than previously reported. The last figure announced was 18.1 per cent. to March 1998, but clarification of a misunderstanding with the Navy and data revisions by some other departments have reduced that figure to 17.5 per cent. I expect the figures for 1999-2000, which should be available in the new year, to show that the 20 per cent. has been achieved.
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Energy management in individual Departments is a matter for those departments and their Green Minister. However, the Government aim to be at the forefront of good practice to improve energy efficiency, and progress is reviewed regularly by Green Ministers under my chairmanship. We have developed new performance indicators which will, for the first time, enable comparisons with independent standards of good practice across the economy, and are now beginning to use these for the larger office buildings on the central Government estate. Once the first year's data have been
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collected and analysed, we will consider how best to use them in the new campaign which began in April this year.
Results for the former Department of the Environment and Department of Transport have been consolidated for earlier years to allow a continuous series for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. DETR's overall performance in 1998-99 has improved relative to the previous year, which was adversely affected by parallel operation of buildings during merger of the former departments.
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| Performance against energy and cost indicators, relative to 1990-91 (positive figures represent % progress) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted for estate and weather changes | Adjusted for weather changes only | |||||||||||
| Fossil fuel | Electricity | Total kWh | Total cost | CO2 | Total CO2 | |||||||
| Civil Departments, including Agencies | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 |
| MAFF--Main Estate(13) | 48 | 52 | -11 | -11 | 35 | 38 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 22 |
| MAFF--Laboratories(13) | 25 | 31 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 26 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 29 | -36 | -31 |
| Cabinet Office | 15 | 50 | -31 | -46 | 4 | 26 | -13 | -8 | 4 | 13 | -63 | -47 |
| Culture, Media & Sport(19) | -33 | -32 | -11 | 3 | -20 | -12 | -14 | -1 | -14 | -2 | -14 | -2 |
| Customs and Excise | 32 | 28 | -17 | -15 | 14 | 12 | -5 | -3 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Educ. and Employment | 28 | 38 | -22 | -22 | 4 | 9 | -13 | -11 | -9 | -7 | 7 | 13 |
| Employment Service | 23 | 21 | -16 | -18 | 12 | 10 | -2 | -4 | 1 | -2 | -5 | -9 |
| Environment, Transport and Regions(14) | 31 | 43 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 31 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 37 | 37 |
| DETR--HSE(15) | 39 | 45 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 34 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 |
| DETR--QEII CC 2 6 | -7 | -14 | 9 | -17 | 3 | -16 | 7 | -17 | 7 | -17 | 7 | -17 |
| FCO | -3 | 13 | -17 | -10 | -8 | 4 | -13 | -4 | -4 | 5 | -34 | -22 |
| Health(16) | 35 | 17 | -83 | -105 | -10 | -30 | -53 | -75 | -39 | -59 | -21 | -38 |
| Home Office(26) | 17 | 23 | 3 | -4 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 |
| Home Office--Prisons(11) | 10 | 28 | -19 | -28 | 6 | 22 | -2 | 6 | 9 | 20 | -7 | 15 |
| Inland Revenue | -7 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 31 | 19 |
| Internat. Development(18) | 54 | 56 | 36 | 35 | 48 | 48 | 41 | 40 | 42 | 41 | 71 | 71 |
| Lord Chancellor's Department | 28 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 14 | -9 | -9 |
| National Savings | 16 | 20 | 32 | 32 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 37 | 38 |
| Northern Ireland | 18 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 15 | 7 | -2 | -10 |
| Scottish Office(17) | 30 | 40 | -26 | -23 | 16 | 24 | -5 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 29 |
| Scottish Court Service(17) | 35 | 44 | 30 | 23 | 34 | 38 | 32 | 31 | 34 | 33 | -2 | -6 |
| Scottish Prison Service | 15 | 16 | -12 | -18 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 9 | -2 | -5 |
| Social Security(20) | 17 | 25 | 0 | -1 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 13 | -12 | 2 |
| Trade & Industry | 74 | 74 | 40 | 39 | 62 | 62 | 49 | 49 | 52 | 53 | 69 | 70 |
| Treasury | -19 | -15 | -8 | -1 | -16 | -11 | -11 | -6 | 4 | 8 | -9 | -1 |
| Welsh Office | 48 | 38 | -18 | -17 | 19 | 13 | -4 | -6 | 1 | -1 | 21 | 20 |
| Total | 18.0 | 28.8 | 1.6 | -1.5 | 14.0 | 21.3 | 8.0 | 10.3 | 13.1 | 16.8 | 6.2 | 12.2 |
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(10) Progress is expressed as a percentage relative to the 1990-91 base year value of the performance indicator in question. Positive figures represent improvement. The standard indicator, against which the target to improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent. by 31 March 2000 is measured, is obtained by weather-correcting energy consumption and converting to costs using "standard prices" for fuel (6p/kWh for electricity and 1.25p/kWh for all fossil fuels) then dividing by floor area. Conversion to money both reflects the relative costs of electricity and fossil fuel and their environmental impact, and the use of fixed prices eliminates the effects of tariff changes which distort the comparison of fuel bills.
(11) Although figures have been prepared on a consistent basis, caution should be exercised in comparing the energy use of different departments and agencies because of differences in their estate and the nature of their work. For example, the operational needs of prisons and the QEII Conference Centre mean that they have a pattern of energy use which is different from that of a department which has predominantly office accommodation. Expenditure on energy and investment figures are included for information only. Investment figures relate to clearly identifiable energy efficiency measures undertaken by departments. Energy efficiency is an integral part of all major construction projects, including building refurbishment and plant replacement and the figure "0" for some departments does not necessarily mean there has been no investment, just that the investment was not clearly identifiable.
(12) The average performance figure for the civil estate cannot be derived by simply adding together the individual departmental progress and dividing by the number of departments because this does not allow for the large variations in consumption. The correct figure is obtained by calculating the value of the performance indicator for the year in question and the base year, for the civil estate as a whole, and calculating the reduction relative to the base year.
(13) The energy performance for MAFF's "Main estate" and its "Laboratories" continues to improve through on-going investment in energy schemes, monitoring of energy at local level and taking appropriate action as well as central initiatives including continued staff awareness programmes.
(14) The DETR's figures have been compiled from the former Environment and Transport Departments. The Department now has a greater proportion of air-conditioned buildings than in the base year, because of estate rationalisation, relocation to new HQ buildings and inclusion of some Government Offices for the Regions. Performance in 1997-98 was adversely affected by parallel operation of both old and new buildings while staff moved from one to the other.
(15) HSE was removed from the DfEE estate on the formation of that Department. QEII Conference Centre is reported separately because of its business-led demands. The initial sharp rise in consumption following the 1990-91 base year was directly attributable to increased revenue earning activity, which has continued throughout the reporting period, ["and the more recent decline in consumption reflects the effect of energy conservation measures undertaken at the site".]
(16) Rationalisation of the estate since the base year has led to staff moving from several naturally ventilated buildings to more densely occupied air-conditioned buildings, all equipped extensively with information technology equipment. Staff numbers have increased by over 25 per cent. since 1997-98 which has led to a commensurate increase in energy consumption.
(17) Base year is 1991-92.
(18) Base year in 1991-92. Data for Natural Resources Institute no longer included following its transfer to the University of Greenwich in 1996.
(19) Base year is 1994-95 by which time energy efficient lighting and other improvements already installed in buildings which are already fully air-conditioned with intensive IT usage.
(20) The Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate is different from the rest of the Government estate, and has been undergoing more radical changes. It is therefore treated in a slightly different way. In common with the civil estate, it has greatly increased its use of information technology.
(21) In civil departments, the effect of estate changes is allowed for by dividing consumption by floor area. In MOD, floor area is sometimes not meaningful (eg in relation to security or runway lighting) and also not often available. Estate changes are allowed for by being explicitly excluded from the calculations, ie the energy consumption of new facilities is removed, and for facilities no longer part of the estate, the consumption for the last full year of operation is added back. In most cases, such changes are small compared to the total and can often approximately cancel each other out.
(22) No 1998-99 data were available for the Common User Estate part of MOD. 1997-98 results are quoted.
(23) It is almost impossible to produce any meaningful results to date for MOD's Procurement Executive (PE) since it has suffered major estate gains and losses over the past 10 years and now consists largely of one recently built large office. The standard MOD methodology produces a meaningless "no change" result (since the present estate is almost entirely different from the original). Consequently, we have taken 1997-98 as the base year and applied the civil departments' methodology to this office.
(24) This shows the combined results for the whole of the Government estate based on the data in tables 1, 2 and 3. It is not a simple average of the data, but reflects the proportion of total consumption represented by each part of the estate (see also note 3). Some departments have a different base year, and the individually agreed base year has been used for the purposes of this table, where appropriate.
(25) In some instances the base year is not 1990-91, but for the purpose of this table the agreed base year has been used in the calculation.
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