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News release

27 October 2010 - NR 48/10

Reduced work-related deaths show value of HSE

Budget cuts could risk the steady year-on-year decline of work-related deaths and injuries in the UK – a leading health and safety organisation has warned today (Wednesday 27 October).

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is concerned that the 35 per cent budget cuts the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) faces following last week’s Government Spending Review could reverse this steady decline, revealed by its new figures today.

The HSE’s Statistics 2009/10 show around a 15 per cent drop in the number of people killed at work - 152 compared to 179 the previous year. And there were 27,096 major injuries such as amputation and burns to employees, down from 29,000 in 2008/9.

But IOSH believes that a key factor in making sure these figures do not rise next year is to maintain the resources – and therefore the capacity - that the HSE currently has to do this.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Policy and Technical Director, Richard Jones, said: “In the light of the recent Government Spending Review, we’re concerned that the year-on-year decline in death and injury rates could be put at risk by the 35 per cent cuts the HSE is now facing. We’re also disappointed and concerned to see a rise in the number of ill health cases put down to work last year.

“Cuts to the HSE don’t just risk livelihoods, they risk the lives of the people we are trying to protect. And if inspectors are forced off the front line to complete the paperwork that a declining admin staff would previously have done, we could potentially see a hockey-stick effect, where death and injury rates increase once more.

“Britain has the lowest rate of fatal occupational injuries in Europe. This year, 152 people were killed at work – 27 fewer than the previous year. That figure is still too high. And reported work-related major injuries were at 27,096, down from 29,000 in 2008/2009. The UK workforce needs a properly resourced HSE and effective workplace management for these downward trends to continue.”

HSE figures do however report a rise in the number of reported instances of work-related ill-health. This year, the figure rose from 1.2 million to an estimated 1.3 million cases of people who put their symptoms down to work. But again, there has been a drop in the number of injuries serious enough to keep people off work for three or more days, from 106,192 to 96,271.

- Ends -

Notes for editors:

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.