www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | papers@parliament.uk | @commonslibrary

BRIEFING PAPER

Number 7458, 11 January 2016

Health and Safety Statistics

By Gloria Tyler

Inside: 1. Summary 2. Definition and background 3. Death and injuries 4. Illness 5. Fatal diseases 6. Region and country 7. Occupation 8. Sector 9. Offshore industries 10. Economic cost of injuries and

ill health at work 11. International comparisons

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 2

Contents 1. Summary 3

2. Definition and background 4

3. Death and injuries 5

4. Illness 6

5. Fatal diseases 7

6. Region and country 8

7. Occupation 9

8. Sector 10

9. Offshore industries 11 Oil and gas 11 Fishing 11

10. Economic cost of injuries and ill health at work 13

11. International comparisons 14

Cover page image copyright: Deep excavation in Centenary Square – site health and safety sign by Elliott Brown. Licensed by CC BY 2.0 / image cropped

3 Health and Safety Statistics

1. Summary The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes statistics on health and safety in Great Britain.

In 2014/15 there were: • 142 deaths at work • 76,000 other employee injuries • 1.2 million cases of work-related illness • 27.3 million working days lost as a result of work-related ill health or injury

The major factors of difference in health and safety risk are a person’s occupation, the industry in which they work, and whether they are self-employed.

Professional occupations have a higher rate for ill health but lower injury rate.

Elementary occupations have a higher injury rate.

Sectors with higher rates of fatal injury are construction, agriculture, waste disposal and recycling and offshore fishing.

Sectors with higher ill health rates are utility supply, health and social work, public administration, defence, and education.

The self-employed are more than twice as likely as employees to suffer fatal injury.

Energy supply and fishing are the two major offshore industries, and both have dedicated health and safety statistics.

In 2013/14, injuries and new cases of ill health in workers resulting from current working conditions cost the economy an estimated £14.3 billion.

The UK has fewer fatal accidents at work than many other European countries.

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 4

2. Definition and background The first provision made in Britain to monitor health and safety at work was Her Majesty’s Factory Inspectorate, appointed in the Factory Act 1833.

This inspectorate was responsible for the investigation of the 1974 Flixborough chemical plant explosion which resulted in 28 fatalities.

Later that year the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 established the Health and Safety Commission to research, inform, advise and regulate industry.

The Health and Safety Executive was formed the following year to enforce health and safety law, a duty shared with Local Authorities. In 2008 the Health and Safety Commission and Health and Safety Executive merged to form one organisation: the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The Health and Safety Executive publishes statistics from a number of sources, notably the Labour Force Survey and Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), which collects comprehensive accounts of workplace accidents and occupational illness.

5 Health and Safety Statistics

3. Death and injuries In 2014/15:

• 142 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.46 fatalities per 100,000 workers • 76,000 other (non-fatal) injuries to employees were reported, a rate of 293 per

100,000 employees • Of these injuries, the most common kinds of accident were caused by slips and trips

(28%), handling, lifting or carrying (23%), and being struck by moving objects (10%)

• The self-employed are more than twice as likely to suffer fatal injury as an employee. The rate of fatal injury for employees was 0.38, while that for the self-employed was 0.89.

The following chart shows the number and rate of fatal injuries in Great Britain since 1995/96.1

Over the past 20 years there has been a steady fall in the rate of fatal injury, although more recently (since 2008/09) the trend is less clear. In 1994/5 there were a total of 272 fatalities at work; in 2014/15 there were 142. This fall reflects changes in occupations and safety practices.

1 HSE, Health and Safety Statistics 2014/15, p9, 2015

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 6

4. Illness In 2014/15:

• 1.2 million workers were suffering from an illness they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work

• 500,000 of these were new conditions which started during the year • Around 80% of the new work-related conditions were either musculoskeletal

disorders (MSDs) or stress, depression or anxiety • MSDs were the most common type of work-related illness • A further 800,000 former workers (who last worked over 12 months earlier) were

suffering from an illness which was caused or made worse by their past work.

Rates of total cases and new cases of self-reported work-related illness, and specifically musculoskeletal disorders, have generally fallen since 2001/02, as the following chart shows.2

2 HSE, Health and Safety Statistics 2014/15, pp2-7, 2015. (Chart from page 6)

7 Health and Safety Statistics

5. Fatal diseases Apart from asbestos-related disease, the trend in fatal diseases caused by work is generally downwards.3

There are around 13,000 deaths each year from occupational lung disease and cancer estimated to have been caused by past exposure to chemicals and dust at work. More than half of these deaths were caused by past exposure to asbestos.

Most of these diseases take many years to develop and so current deaths are the result of past workplace conditions.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), caused by dust, gases, vapours and fumes, is estimated to be the single largest cause of deaths due to work-related diseases, at around 4,000 per year.

In 2013, 2,538 people died from mesothelioma, a type of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.

Other causes of occupational cancer are exposure to silica, diesel engine exhaust, and mineral oils.

There were 6,100 new Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) cases in 2014, of which two-thirds were lung related diseases.

3 HSE, Health and Safety Statistics 2014/15, pp 2-8, 2015. Further information can be found in the HSE

MESO1 data table.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013

Deaths from mesothelioma

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 8

6. Region and country The main driver of differences in health and safety risk is not the geographic area in which someone works. Any apparent difference between regions and countries is likely to be strongly affected by the occupational mix in the workforce of those regions and countries.4

Scotland and Wales have proportionally fewer workers in low-risk occupations compared with England, and in London and the South East there is a much higher proportion of workers in low-risk occupations than across the rest of the country.

The number of fatal injuries (as opposed to the rate of injury detailed above) in 2014/15 was highest in Scotland and lowest in the North East.

4 HSE, Health and safety statistics: country and regional analysis 2015, 2015

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Fatalities per 100,000 by region & country2014/15

Fatalities at work by region & country2014/15

FatalitiesRate (per 100,000)

Scotland 20 0.8South West 19 0.7East Midlands 14 0.7Wales 9 0.7North West 20 0.6Yorks & Humber 15 0.6West Midlands 11 0.4East of England 11 0.4South East 11 0.3London 9 0.2North East 1 0.1

Great Britain 142 0.5Source: HSE data table RIDFATAL

9 Health and Safety Statistics

7. Occupation The main factors of difference in health and safety risk are a person’s occupation, the industry in which they work, and whether they are self-employed. The most dangerous occupation is process, plant or machine operative.

• In 2014/15 there were 27 fatalities amongst Process, Plant and Machine Operatives • This equates to a rate of 1.8 per 100,000 • Occupations with higher ill health rates were skilled trades, caring and leisure

services and professional • Workers in care, leisure and other personal service occupations and skilled trade

occupations have higher rates of both injury and ill health compared to all occupations.

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Fatal injuries per 100,000 employees by occupation 2014/15

Fatalities at work by occupation type2014/15

FatalitiesRate (per 100,000)

Operative 28 1.8

Skilled Trade 22 1.1

Elementary 29 0.9Caring & Leisure 4 0.2

Managerial 3 0.1

Customer Service 3 0.1

Administrative 3 0.1

Not known 3 ..

Professional 2 ..

Technical 2 ..

Source: HSE data table RIDOCC

Rate is per 100,000 employees

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 10

8. Sector In terms of fatal accidents per 100,000 employees, the most dangerous sector to work in is agriculture. In terms of the number of fatalities, the service sector is the most dangerous industry, due to the fact that over 80% of jobs are in this sector.

• In 2014/15 there were 27 fatalities in agriculture. This equates to a rate of 6.6 per 100,000, 3 times higher than any other sector

• There were 133 fatalities in the service industries, equivalent to a rate of 0.4 per 100,000 employees.

• Industry sectors with higher ill health rates were utility supply, human health and social work activities, public administration and defence, and education

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Fatal injuries per 100,000 employees by sector2014/15

Fatalities at work by sector2014/15

FatalitiesRate (per 100,000)

Agriculture 27 6.6

Mining 3 2.6

Energy (onshore) 5 1.5

Water and waste 1 0.6

Service industries 133 0.4

Construction 14 0.3Manufacturing 41 0.2

Source: HSE data table RIDIND

Rate is per 100,000 employees

11 Health and Safety Statistics

9. Offshore industries The two major offshore industries are fishing and energy supply. These are particularly dangerous work environments and have their own dedicated sources of health and safety statistics.

Oil and gas In July 2015, HSE and the Department of Energy and Climate Change created the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator which is responsible for implementing the requirements of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations.

In 2013/14:

• There was one fatality. Since 2010/11 there have been a total of three. • There were 16 specified injuries, a rate of 48 per 100,000 workers. Numbers and

rates have fluctuated in the past five years.5

Fishing Figures on accidents involving fishing vessels and fishermen are compiled by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, part of the Department for Transport. 6

In 2014:

• There were 8 fatalities on fishing vessels, the highest number since 2011. • There were 46 injuries on UK fishing vessels.

Over the last ten years, the number of fatalities in the offshore fishing industry has declined, although the profile has not been smooth.

5 HSE, Annual offshore statistics and regulatory activity report 2014/15, September 2015 6 Marine Management Organisation, UK Sea Fisheries Annual Statistics 2014, September 2015

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Fatalities in the UK fishing industry

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 12

Number of accidents and fatalities involving UK fishing vesselsFatalities Injuries

2003 11 702004 10 702005 9 622006 16 692007 8 642008 8 602009 13 752010 5 452011 8 582012 6 502013 4 332014 8 46Source: Marine Accident Investigation Branch, UK sea fisheries statistics 2014, 2015

13 Health and Safety Statistics

10. Economic cost of injuries and ill health at work

Injuries and new cases of ill health resulting largely from current working conditions cost an estimated £14.3 billion in 2013/14.7

• New cases of workplace illness account for around £9.4 billion • Workplace injury (including fatalities) cost £4.9 billion

Just over half of this total cost fell on individuals, while the rest was carried by employers and government/taxpayers.

The estimated cost has generally fallen over the last 10 years.

In terms of working days lost in 2014/15:

The total number of working days lost has generally followed a downward trend since 2000-02, but shows signs of levelling off in recent years.

• The estimated number of working days lost has fallen from 39.5 million in 2000-02 to 27.3 million in 2014/15.

• In 2014/15, 23.3 million days were lost due to work-related ill health and 4.1 million due to workplace injuries.

• On average, each person suffering took around 15 days off work, 19 days for ill health cases and 7 for injuries.

• Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health, 9.9 million and 9.5 million days respectively.

• The average days lost per case for stress, depression or anxiety (23 days) was higher than for musculoskeletal disorders (17 days).

• The HSE is still undertaking work to estimate the cost of conditions caused by historic working conditions such as mesothelioma.

7 HSE, Health and Safety Statistics 2014/15, p19, 2015

Number 7458, 11 January 2016 14

11. International comparisons Health and safety systems in other countries differ in recording, reporting and enforcement, but Eurostat publishes nations’ data in as standardised a form as possible, enabling comparison across the EU.8

Overall in 2012, the UK had the lowest fatal accident at work rate of all other EU countries.

The UK reported 0.6 fatal accidents at work per 100,000 workers in 2011. This contrasts with a rate in the Netherlands of 0.7 (the second lowest in the EU), Latvia’s rate of 4.7 (the highest in the EU) and the EU rate of 1.3.

8 HSE, European Comparisons, 2015, Data table EU Comp 1

0 1 2 3 4 5

United KingdomNetherlands

SwedenGermany

EstoniaDenmark

GreeceItaly

EU 15PolandIreland

BelgiumHungaryFinland

SwitzerlandMalta

SlovakiaSpain

Czech RepublicCyprusAustriaFrance

SloveniaPortugal

LuxembourgRomaniaBulgariaCroatia

LithuaniaLatvia

Fatal accidents at work per 100,000 employees2012

BRIEFING PAPER Number 7458, 11 January 2016

The House of Commons Library research service provides MPs and their staff with the impartial briefing and evidence base they need to do their work in scrutinising Government, proposing legislation, and supporting constituents.

As well as providing MPs with a confidential service we publish open briefing papers, which are available on the Parliament website.

Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in these publically available research briefings is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware however that briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.

If you have any comments on our briefings please email papers@parliament.uk. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing only with Members and their staff.

If you have any general questions about the work of the House of Commons you can email hcinfo@parliament.uk.

Disclaimer - This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties. It is a general briefing only and should not be relied on as a substitute for specific advice. The House of Commons or the author(s) shall not be liable for any errors or omissions, or for any loss or damage of any kind arising from its use, and may remove, vary or amend any information at any time without prior notice.

The House of Commons accepts no responsibility for any references or links to, or the content of, information maintained by third parties. This information is provided subject to the conditions of the Open Parliament Licence.