To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fatal accidents were recorded in relation to the operation of wind turbines in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (209566)

Since 1997, HSE is aware of two fatalities related to the operation of the UK's wind energy industry. In Scotland in May 2007, a construction worker fell from height inside a wind turbine tower; and in Wales in March 2008 a worker who struck by a moving vehicle on a wind farm access road.

HSE is not the regulator for Northern Ireland (NI) but I am advised that there have been no fatalities related to wind turbines in NI since 1997.