| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 May 2007 : Column 1160W—continued
Industrial Health and Safety: Agriculture
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the Gangmasters Act 2004 on deaths and injuries at work in the agriculture sector; and what evidence the Government has received of agricultural gangmasters moving to unregulated sectors. [135668]
Mrs. McGuire: Fatal and non-fatal accidents in industries for which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority, including agriculture, are reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). Records show that one fatal accident involving a worker supplied by a gangmaster was reported in 2005-06. No work-related fatal accident involving a worker supplied by a gangmaster was reported in 2006-07.
RIDDOR does not require employers to record an injured worker's employment status when reporting an accident, so it is extremely difficult to identify injuries to casual and temporary workers supplied by gangmasters from accidents reported to HSE with any degree of accuracy.
There is no specific evidence of the extent to which gangmasters are moving to unregulated sectors. However, there is clear evidence that some gangmasters supply into several sectors. There is also evidence that gangmasters whose Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA) licences have been revoked are still trading.
The GLA has commissioned work to measure the impact of the licensing arrangements, including impact on the number of gangmasters. The initial results will be published in late 2007.
Industrial Health and Safety: Sonae (UK)
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many enforcement notices were issued by the Health and Safety Executive to Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [132999]
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many enforcement notices were issued by the Health and Safety Executive to Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [134535]
Mrs. McGuire: There have been no enforcement notices issued by the Health and Safety Executive in the last four years against Sonae (UK) Ltd. at the Knowsley site.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cause of the incident at the Sonae factory in Kirkby in February 2007. [133025]
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cause of the incident at the Sonae factory in Kirkby in February 2007. [134528]
Mrs. McGuire: The Health and Safety Executive has undertaken a thorough investigation of the fire at Sonae (UK) Ltd. on 20 February 2007 and has determined that this fire was caused by the catastrophic failure of either a mechanical seal or an impeller on pump number two in the thermal oil manifold room. This resulted in hot oil being discharged into the manifold room and the oil was ignited when it came into contact with a hot surface, either the handle on one of the pump valves or the impeller casing. Sonae's fire precautions were effective in limiting the consequences of the fire, despite the existence of a previously unknown void between the wall of the manifold room and the external cladding. The damage to the plant control room resulted from smoke and hot gases breaching this void, although such damage was limited to plant and equipment. There was no loss of life or injury.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations reports were made by Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement; [133033]
(2) how many lost time accidents were reported by Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [133000]
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many incidents reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 were made by Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement; [134532]
(2) how many lost time accidents were reported by Sonae (UK) Ltd. in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [134533]
Mrs. McGuire: There have been 27 reports made by Sonae (UK) Ltd. in the last four years under the requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. The distribution of these reports are detailed in the following table.
| Deaths | Major injury | Ove r 3 day accidents | Dangerous occurrences | Total | |
There is no requirement to report lost time accidents to the Health and Safety Executive, other than those required to be reported under RIDDOR.
IT Projects
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which information technology projects are being undertaken by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated costs are of each; and if he will make a statement. [101696]
Mrs. McGuire: Although the Department does not have any discrete IT projects, it has a number of projects and programmes which include changes to IT to a greater or lesser extent. We have included in the following table:
those current projects and programmes undertaken by the Department where the IT element of the project or programme results in the development and/or implementation of services that underpin the delivery of departmental business, and
where non-delivery of the IT element would significantly damage the project's or programme's ability to deliver its intended results.
For all programmes or projects with the exception of CSA Operational Improvement Plan the costs and
dates reported relate to the total project or programme and not only the IT element. In the case of CSA OIP which is an operational improvement programme only the IT element costs and delivery timelines are recorded in the table.
The table shows information on their purpose, start date, original planned completion date, expected completion date, originally planned costs and estimated costs.
It should be noted that the scope of projects change as they pass through the project lifecycle and as plans and costs become more robust. At each stage of this process they are checked to ensure that they continue to fit with Departmental strategy and continue to deliver value for money.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |