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23 Apr 2008 : Column 2088W—continued
Health and Safety Executive: Pensions
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pension of the Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive. [Official Report, 17 June 2008, Vol. 477, c. 9MC.] [198499]
Mrs. McGuire: The total value of the remuneration package, including the value of the public sector pension, for the chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive is published each year, in June, in the annual accounts. In the latest published information available for 2006-07 accounting year the cash equivalent transfer value is £1,806,000.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what pension scheme is offered to staff joining the Health and Safety Executive; what the rate of employer contributions to the scheme is; and if he will place in the Library a copy of terms and benefits of the scheme. [198500]
Mrs. McGuire: Staff joining HSE after 30 July 2007 are offered the opportunity to join the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). Within the PCSPS there is a choice of two schemes, either the civil service nuvos pension scheme or a partnership pension where they choose a pension provider from an approved panel.
The majority of people choose to join the nuvos scheme and the employer contributions from 1 April 2008 are:
| Band | Salary (£) | Rates from 1 April 2008 (percentage) |
If they choose a partnership pension the employer contributions are:
A percentage of pensionable earnings which varies according to the employee’s age as at the beginning of the tax year (that is, as at the last 6 April) and so it may increase in the future.
| Employer contributions | |
| Age at the last 6 April | Percentage of pensionable earnings |
On top of this HSE match any regular contributions made up to an additional 3 per cent. of pensionable earnings.
Full details of the terms and benefits of the PCSPS are available on the civil service pensions website
including the current scheme rules and publications.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a mesothelioma compensation claim made under the provisions of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill will be required to be submitted within 12 months of the diagnosis of the disease being made; what exceptions to a time limit for submission of claims will apply; and whether an award of compensation for mesothelioma will be required to be paid within six weeks of a claim being lodged. [Official Report, 17 June 2008, Vol. 477, c. 10MC.] [198747]
Mrs. McGuire:
There will be a 12 month time limit for claiming a lump sum payment under the new
mesothelioma scheme proposed in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill, but the time limit can be extended if there are good reasons for a delayed claim.
The intention of the scheme is to make payments as quickly as possible and the 12 month time limit is designed to encourage claims to be made as quickly as possible after diagnosis to enable claimants to receive money in life; it is not intended to exclude people from receiving a payment at all.
For this reason, we intend that the 12 month time limit to claims to the new mesothelioma scheme from sufferers during the scheme’s first year of operation.
We expect lump sum payments under the new mesothelioma scheme to be made within six weeks of a claim, although this is not a legal requirement.
Industrial Health and Safety: Construction
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people employed in the construction industry in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have died in the workplace in each year since 1997. [198838]
Mrs. McGuire: The following table shows the numbers of reportable fatal injuries to workers in the construction industry. This does not include deaths in the workplace that are unrelated to work activities. The available geographic data do not allow the constituency of Jarrow to be identified.
| Fatal injuries to workers in the construction industry( 1) as reported to all enforcing authorities 1997-98 to 2006-07( 2) | ||||||
| South Tyneside( 3) | North East( 4) | Great Britain( 5) | ||||
| Employees | Self-employed | Employees | Self-employed | Employees | Self-employed | |
| (1) Identified by Standard Industrial Classification 1992 (SIC92) Section F-Construction. (2 )Provisional. (3) Identified by local authority code 4520 ‘South Tyneside’. (4) Identified by Government Office Region and includes South Tyneside LA. (5 )Includes North East Government Office Region. | ||||||
Industrial Health and Safety: Fines
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average fine was imposed in (a) the North East and (b) the UK on employers for breaches of health and safety regulations in each year since 1997. [199093]
Mrs. McGuire: The average fines per conviction imposed in the North East and Great Britain for breaches of Health and Safety regulations in each year since 1997 were:
| Average fine per conviction | ||
| £ | ||
| In the North East | In Great Britain | |
The majority of these fines are against employers but the figures also include other convictions against individuals such as landlords who have been fined for breaches of Health and Safety regulations.
The national figures presented are for Great Britain, and do not include figures for heath and safety in Northern Ireland. They are based on both prosecutions initiated by HSE and local authorities.
The average Great Britain fine in 2005-06 is much greater than other years as it included a large fine of £15,000,000.
The North East regional figure is based on prosecutions initiated by HSE’s Field Operations Directorate and local authorities, apart from 1997-98—2000-01, where regional figures are not available for local authority prosecutions.
The average fine per conviction is based on the results where fines were imposed by the courts for individual charges laid before the courts. Prosecution cases can contain one or more charges. Only one offence may be charged in any one information laid before the courts. There may be one or more hearings of the charge in court before the court delivers a verdict on each particular offence. Each conviction is a single breach of a specific piece of health and safety legislation.
The 2006-07 value is the provisional published figure, all other figures are final.
Industrial Health and Safety: Sentencing
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employer representatives were given custodial sentences for offences for failing to comply with health and safety legislation in each year since 1997. [199092]
Mrs. McGuire: Health and safety legislation does not recognise the term ‘employer representative’ but does place legal duties on employers and the self-employed. The following table provides the number of custodial sentences for employers and the self-employed in Great Britain from 1999-2000 to 2006-07:
| Custodial sentences | |||
| Total | Suspended prison sentence | Prison sentence | |
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