The reply is in the following table. The number of inspectors HSE expects to employ in 2007-08 and 2008-09 is an estimate depending on turnover and recruitment.
At 1 April Number of inspectors1 1996 1,466 1997 1,442 1998 1,437 1999 1,497 2000 1,507 2001 1,534 2002 1,625 2003 1,651 2004 1,605 2005 1,530 2006 21,444 20073 1,438 20083 1,417 20094 5— 1 All figures are for full-time equivalents, rounded to the nearest whole number. 2 The number excludes 95 inspectors (full-time equivalents) that moved from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation when responsibility for rail regulation health and safety matters transferred on 1 April 2006. 3 Estimated number based on HSE’s staffing plan at November 2006. 4 HSE’s staffing plan covers the period to March 2008. The Department for Work and Pensions will be discussing budget allocations for 2008-2011 with HSE over the coming weeks. An estimate of the number of inspectors at 1 April 2009 cannot therefore be provided at this time. 5 Not applicable.
(2) what the total cost was of the recent Health and Safety Executive campaign to manage work-related stress.
The Health and Safety Executive’s initiatives on back pain, slips and trips and work-related stress are designed to contribute to the revitalising health and safety targets to reduce work-related ill health and sickness absence.
The “Better Backs” marketing campaign cost £2.5 million overall. This included the cost of advertising—in the national and trade press, on radio, online and outdoor—plus the funding of “Better Backs” publicity events, production of information packs, and research and evaluation costs.
The “Watch Your Step” campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the causes and costs of slips and trips accidents at work, cost £1.7 million on advertising and event organisation.
For work-related stress, the current series of “Healthy Workplace Solutions” workshops has a predicted final cost of £627,000. This includes the cost of sending invitations to employers, processing responses, venue hire and speaker costs.
The “Fit Out” campaign in October 2005, involved targeted national inspections looking specifically at the issues of low falls and housekeeping at construction projects that were approaching completion. This activity was supported by the production of a campaign poster and campaign infosheet.
Inspections were carried out largely within normal working hours incurring few additional staff costs.
Production and distribution of posters and infosheets cost £5,000.
The number of accidents for the years requested are set out in the following table. The Health and Safety Commission has no premises separately from HSE.
Number of RIDDOR accidents1 on HSE premises 1997-982 3n/a 1998-99 n/a 1999-2000 n/a 2000-01 n/a 2001-02 n/a 2002-03 n/a 2003-04 10 2004-05 17 2005-06 13 2006 to present (December 2006) 6 1 This includes all accidents HSE is required to report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. 2 For years 1997-2004 the primary source of information is the HSE annual health and safety report. The amount and substance of incident data in this report varies from year to year. After 2004-05 the data come from records held in HSE’s human resources department. 3 For 1997-98 to 2002-03 it has not been possible to identify the number of accidents causing injury occurring on HSE premises, as the report forms used did not always indicate the location of the accident.
The number of accidents to Health and Safety Executive staff for the years requested are set out in the following table.
I am not aware of any accidents to members of the Health and Safety Commission while engaged on HSC business. The health and safety incident rates are low when compared with other organisations engaged in the type of work that HSE is involved in.
Number of RIDDOR accidents1 to HSE staff 1997-982 13 1998-99 7 1999-2000 5 2000-01 11 2001-02 10 2002-03 10 2003-04 10 2004-05 16 2005-06 9 2006 to present (December 2006) 5 1 This includes all accidents HSE is required to report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. 2 For years 1997-2004 the primary source of information is the HSE annual health and safety report. The amount and substance of incident data in this report varies from year to year. After 2004-05 the data comes from records held in HSE’s Human Resources department.