The numbers of major injuries to workers, fatalities and cases of occupational illness in Britain fell last year, according to new figures released today (31 October) by the HSE.
However, in terms of quantity, enforcement across HSE, Local Authorities and the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland appears patchy.
The provisional statistics show that between April 2011 and March 2012 there were 22,433 major injuries to employees, compared with 24,944 in 2010/11; the average for the past five years is 27,170.
A total of 88,731 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days was also reported – a rate of 355.5 injuries per 100,000 employees – down from 91,742 the previous year, and 14.5 per cent lower than the average for the past five years of 103,627.
An estimated 1.1 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work – down from 1.2 million in 2010/11. Some 452,000 new illnesses occurred during 2011/12, compared with an average 554,000 new cases each year for the past five years.
As previously reported, 173 workers lost their lives in 2011/12 – a very slight improvement on the 175 fatalities recorded in 2010/11. The average for the past five years is 196 worker deaths per year.
Injuries and incidents of ill health accounted for 27 million working days lost last year – an average of 16.8 days per case. These figures are up slightly on 2010/11, when 26.4 million working days were lost – an indicator that IOSH highlighted as a concern.
Said its head of policy and public affairs, Richard Jones: “Although the number of cases has dropped, the number of working days lost has actually risen. It seems that people are being made more ill and are spending more time off work as a result.
“The economic toll on individuals, employers and the state of work-related illness and injury is not going down. The HSE’s figures show accidents and certain illnesses cost some £13.4 billion in 2010/11, but that doesn’t account for the cases of occupational cancer. Around 8000 people are dying each year from occupational cancers.”
On enforcement, the statistics reveal a more mixed picture. While the HSE prosecuted 551 cases in England and Wales in 2011/12 and secured 506 convictions – the highest number over the most recent five-year period – convictions from local-authority-led cases fell from 147 in 2007/08 to 92 in 2011/12. Convictions secured by the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland have also fallen – from 66 in 2007/08 to 32 in 2011/12.
Last year also saw a significant fall in the number of enforcement notices issued. The total of 14,525 notices issued by HSE and local authorities in 2011/12 represents a 21-per-cent fall on the total of 18,308 issued the previous year.
The HSE said the figures on injury and ill health are encouraging in the economic climate but it wants to see further improvement. The watchdog’s chair, Judith Hackitt, said: “Britain has earned the reputation of being one of the safest places in Europe to work, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We need to ensure that we all focus on managing the real risks that lead to serious workplace harm.”
While also welcoming the falls in injuries and ill health, the TUC questioned how the improvement could continue with enforcement being scaled back.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “A small fall in workplace injuries would be expected during a recession, and we remain worried that any decline in illnesses may not be sustained in the long run, given the reduction in activity from the HSE in this area. The fall in notices is also a cause for concern.”
Added Richard Jones: “We have concerns that the cutbacks taking place and the deregulatory activity in health and safety are in danger of causing massive confusion for employers. This could cause an increase in ill health and injury, which we can ill-afford while still trying to emerge from recession.”
The full statistics, including comparisons with previous years, are available at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics
