Westminster Hall debates

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• [Mr Joe Benton in the Chair] — Local Media
  

  I apologise for coming late to the debate, Mr Benton, because of an earlier ministerial meeting. Otherwise, I would have intervened earlier.

  May I point out to the hon. Gentleman our regret over the dropping of the IFNC plans? There is a sense of urgency within the industry, and as secretary of the National Union of Journalists group I have stood up time and again in virtually every debate we have had over the past 18 months on the matter to demonstrate that sense of urgency. I suppose that what I am trying to get across to him is that if he is offering an alternative model, it would behove him to put as much pressure as he possibly can on the coalition to bring his proposals forward rapidly, before we lose even more jobs in the industry.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  Before we lose the point, I asked a question about the appointment of the person leading the HSE review. Will the Minister, perhaps by writing to me, clarify the process for the appointment of that individual and the process for appointments generally by the HSE for such key reviews?

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  On the difference between the minimum and maximum, I put it on the record that 99.9 per cent. of the population know when they are too hot or too cold. The complexities that have been brought forward regarding the maximum temperature could have been used for the minimum temperature, because we now use arguments about the wind chill factor and other considerations that affect how people feel the cold. I want to put it on the record that the vast majority of us feel that the process for finding the maximum temperature and the use of scientific evidence is a process of obfuscation and avoidance of responsibility.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  The Minister mentioned costs. I would like to place on record-perhaps he could pass this message on to the HSE-the fact that the analysis of costs should not just involve the costs to employers of introducing protective or compensatory measures. There should be an understanding, too, of the costs to wider society of the effects of heat on health. The cost burden falls on the individual and their family, then on the NHS and the general taxpayer.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  We have had discussions through the trade union group with the bakers union, which is keenly engaged in the sector discussions, but let me make the point that has been made to us by the union itself. It does not want to be seen as part of some form of divide-and-rule measures whereby we pass off individual sectors and do not establish across all of industry and commerce a maximum temperature regime. We need to address the fear that participation in one-sector reviews will mean that other sectors will not be involved, or that there will be delays in involving them. By all means, the union should participate in sector discussions, but not at the expense of wider progress on maximum temperature across industry.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  My hon. Friend the Minister has set out-let me be clear about this for the record-the fact that the regulatory report and the impact assessment will go to the HSE board in April and there will be a report to Ministers in May. May I ask my hon. Friend to be clearer about what the process might be after that if the Government determine that they will go along the line of a maximum temperature? What processes are envisaged in that regard? Will there be delegated legislation? What time scale would be envisaged? This campaign has been going on for a long time. Hopes were raised 12 months ago that this issue would be wrapped up by last December and there is disappointment that the matter has dragged out even further.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  Just to see if we can inspire some more inspiration from other sources, I should say that that would help. If my hon. Friend cannot provide it today, perhaps he will write to us.

  I understand that there will be a ministerial report by May, a decision by Ministers, then the normal 12 to 13 weeks' statutory consultation on whatever is proposed. It would be useful to know whether delegated legislation would be introduced if a change of regulations is required, whether affirmative or negative resolution in the House would be required, or whether there would be a ministerial signing-off process that might prevent the measure being impeded in any way by attempts to seek parliamentary time.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  I have tried to approach the debate by attempting to secure a consensus largely because, if there is a hung Parliament, I am working on the basis that the Socialist Campaign Group will hold the balance of power between the parties. I say to my hon. Friend the Minister that I, too, am concerned about some of the statements made by the Leader of the Opposition and the specific quote from the Green Paper. However, I do not want that to be a matter of controversy today. I am trying to arrive at a position whereby we can move forward on the issue of maximum temperatures that has been signed up to today. Anything he can say that is of comfort about support for maximum temperatures would be extremely helpful in securing that consensus.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  Just as a matter of warning, statements such as

  "The powers of Government inspectors will be drastically curbed"

  send out the wrong message in the health and safety area, so I would like the hon. Gentleman to take that back if possible. Secondly, I suggest to him, as I suggested earlier, that we try to establish a time scale for a set of actions to be taken, so that the Government can make a decision. I would like that to happen before dissolution, but if that cannot be done then at least within six months, because we have been at this for so long. The latest process started last January, so it is over a year later. The hon. Gentleman could indicate that he, too, sees it as a matter of some urgency now, and that a time scale of six months for resolving it would be reasonable.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  For the sake of clarity, the HSE commissioned an investigation and report from Professor Ray Kemp. The survey subsequently sent out by the HSE related specifically to the impact assessment, including the impact of introducing regulations. The danger is that the HSE seems to think that it can deal with just one sector, rather than with industry as a whole. Such a sectoral approach would cause even more confusion.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  This Adjournment debate is about maximum workplace temperatures. I shall explain my interest in the subject.

  Over the past three decades, there have been a number of bakeries and confectionery manufacturers in my constituency, some of which have unfortunately gone into decline as a result of past recessions. Nevertheless, there remains an element of that sector of industry in my constituency. I have taken an interest in health and safety matters for the work force in that sector in my constituency for a number of years. I am also chair of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union parliamentary group, a cross-party group of about 30 MPs formed a number of years ago that considers problems in the industry in which the bakers union has members.

  Health and safety is a key factor for the union, as it is to a number of the MPs in the parliamentary group. In recent years, we have been working on the matter of maximum working temperatures. That is a critical factor for those working in the bakery sector, but we have made links with other trade unions through the TUC; for them, too, it is a key issue. That is the genesis for today's debate.

  I shall explain our concerns about the effects of heat in the working environment. After a long period of campaigning, we have at last seen an increased awakening in the House, within Government and in society to the dangers of working in high temperatures. There is now an acceptance that we may have underestimated the short and long-term psychological and physical effects of what used to be described as non-major health risks in the working environment. We now understand a lot more about the effects of high temperatures on people at work.

  Some attempts have been made at giving guidance to employers more generally on the range of temperatures in which it is comfortable to work. The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers recommends a range of temperatures; for example, it suggests 13° C for heavy work in factories and 16° C for light work, about 18° C for hospital wards and shops and 20° C for offices and dining rooms.

  Those are temperatures in which people will feel comfortable when working, but research has shown that when the recommended temperature range of between 16° C and 24° C is exceeded it has a range of implications for those working in such environments. If people get hot, they may suffer dizziness, fainting or even heat cramps. In very hot conditions, the blood temperature may rise; if it rises above a certain level, there is a risk of heatstroke or collapse. In some instances it can prove fatal. Even if there is recovery, evidence shows that irreparable organ damage can result.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. The reason for this debate is to secure clarity in our regulations. There is greater clarity in other parts of Europe, with maximum ranges of temperatures being set for particular industries, but we do not have that here.

  I shall explain the current regime and its weaknesses. We should be clear about what we seek. It is not about setting a maximum temperature above which an industrial or commercial process should end. It is about setting a temperature above which the employer should take action to overcome the problem. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) gave a good example, which was the supply of water. Ventilation is another.

  I have raised the matter before, but a cretin-I can only describe him thus-attacked me in the media, saying that we were trying to prevent people from working in the sun or in hot conditions. Far from it: we were trying to keep people at work, but to ensure that sufficient compensatory action was taken to prevent them becoming too hot and suffering health problems as a result.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  It is interesting to note that a minimum temperature is set. When I first left school, I worked for Birds Eye on the hamburger line-I have not eaten one since. In those cold conditions, action was taken if the temperature fell, cladding was given and people were taken out of those conditions to enable them to warm themselves. It is about ensuring an appropriate trigger mechanism that protects workers and employers and makes clear what action should be taken and at what level. We do not have that for maximum temperatures.

  I have touched on the wider health impacts, but it is worth trying to get something more on the record. The effects of heat were not sufficiently acknowledged in previous debates on the matter, nor by the Health and Safety Executive. The effects include fatigue, extra strain on the heart and lungs, and the dizziness, fainting and heat cramps due to loss of water and salt that I mentioned earlier. Hot, dry air also increases the risk of eye and throat infections and breathing problems such as asthma and rhinitis.

  Even what we would call medium temperatures can lead, as we know in this place, to loss of concentration and increased tiredness, which means that workers may be at greater risk. Those indirect effects can lead to an increased likelihood of accidents, as can slippery, sweaty palms; and they also lead to an increase in discomfort. Those are the effects that have been recorded. We have an increased understanding of those effects in the short term, but insufficient research has been undertaken into the long-term effects of working in a hot environment and the daily exposure to high temperatures. One plea that I make is for the Government to give the HSE some direction in order to ensure a much greater element of research into the long-term effects of working in hot conditions.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  I fully agree with the hon. Gentleman. I hope that what results from today's debate is an acknowledgement by the Government that that is the route that needs to be taken. We have been down all the advisory routes, but none of them seems to have worked.

  The extent of the problem is massive and in the past, it was not treated sufficiently seriously. The various trade union groups, particularly the bakers union, have surveyed workers to discover how they feel about the problem. Let me give some examples of the surveys we have undertaken. In 2008, high temperatures were cited as a major hazard by one in five safety representatives in an extensive TUC survey. Interestingly, the survey cut across sectors-central and local government, education and manufacturing. One of the big issues was post-war buildings with a high glass content. The president of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Ronnie Draper, who has joined us in the gallery today, said:

  "The lack of a solid legal framework makes it difficult for us, as a trade union, to protect our members and leads to vast inconsistencies across the country."

  He told us about two BFAWU members who were working for the same large retailer in different locations. Both complained about the workplace heat, but the management's control measures were totally different in each case; one was acceptable and one was not. Therefore, even within the same company there are different practices on control measures. As the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr. Campbell) said, that is down to a lack of clarity.

  A whole range of responses came out of the HSE's 2010 survey. Let me quote from one bakers union member, who said that

  "staff have no control because we can't open windows. Also if we try to get fans or heaters more often than not we are told no because of wires being across the floor".

  Another member pointed out:

  "We have juice in the summer, but it has to be a 'very' high temperature before we get it."

  One of the consistent themes that came out of the survey was the inadequacy of the fan units even when they were delivered by the employers themselves.

  There was just one survey in Northern Ireland, which revealed that workers at a large food manufacturer were regularly working in temperatures ranging from 28° C to 35.9° C, and that is an intolerable heat environment in which to work. I pay tribute to other unions with which we have worked. The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers undertook a similar survey in 2009 and had more than 1,100 responses. Some 61 per cent. of the staff working in the various workplaces, shops, offices and warehouses said that high temperatures are a continual problem, and 87 per cent. said they had been complaining about high temperatures for over a year but with little or no response from management. Only 10 per cent. reported that management had taken appropriate steps to alleviate the problems, such as providing fans and cool drinks.

  In that survey, 72 per cent. reported that thermometers were not available in the workplace even to monitor the temperature, which is a clear breach of health and safety regulations.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  As always in such situations, it indicates that there are good and bad employers, and what we have to do is legislate for the bad employers. We have examples of employers taking the appropriate action, and others of employers refusing to undertake their responsibilities even under the existing regulations.

  In the survey, we asked union members to describe the problems they were experiencing. They cited fatigue, feeling sweaty and irritable, headaches, dizziness and nausea, which is not acceptable in a modern working environment. We linked up with other unions in other sectors. A trade union survey among teachers found similar problems. Again, members talked about headaches, particularly when they were based in modern buildings with a high glass content and when summer temperatures rose to 32° C.

  We have also had responses from telephone exchanges and call centres. Again, recorded temperatures ranged between 31° C to 36° C. In some places, the average temperature was 28.64° C, which is well beyond what would be considered a normal, comfortable working environment. In cases where the relevant unions sought to gain improvements, there was a failure in back-up, which was partly to do with the HSE or the local authority. Those improvements that had been introduced had taken years to achieve.

  The problems in this area relate to the current regulations. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 laid down particular requirements for most aspects of the work environment, but on temperatures they are confused and feeble. Regulation 7 specifically deals with the temperature in indoor places and states:

  "During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable."

  Then a code of practice sets out what is deemed reasonable:

  "The temperature in workrooms should provide reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. Where such a temperature is impractical because of hot or cold processes, all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a temperature which is as close as possible to comfortable."

  It continues:

  "The temperature in workrooms should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius"-

  so we have a minimum temperature of sorts-

  "unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius".

  It does not specify a maximum temperature. Instead, what we have is a series of thresholds, which is extraordinary. It says that the thresholds are set on the basis of reasonableness, so in air-conditioned offices, it is not reasonable if more than 10 per cent. of employers are complaining of being too hot or cold.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  Exactly, and that is why we need greater clarity about what action needs to be taken in such a case. This vagueness of relying upon the subjective judgment of percentages of workers is extraordinary and something that we do not find in other fields. In air-conditioned offices, 10 per cent. of employees have to complain before action is taken. In naturally ventilated offices, more than 50 per cent. of employees need to complain. In retail businesses, warehouses, factories and other indoor environments that may not have air conditioning, some 20 per cent. of employees have to complain of being too hot or too cold. Only then are the workers entitled to request that their employer take action, and only then does the employer have a duty to respond.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  I fully agree that it is about a reasonable approach. We need to have a reasonable interpretation but with long-stops. At the moment, we have a long-stop at the minimum but not at the maximum. That is as much to protect the employer as the employee. What we find is that good employers will do their best, and unscrupulous employers will undermine the whole sector.

  Elsewhere in Europe, maximum temperatures are set. In Germany, a maximum of 26° C is the norm, but the guidelines state that if the outside temperature is higher, there is an element of flexibility. At least a norm is set which can be referred to. Similarly, in France there is greater clarity. In Spain, specified temperatures range between 17° C and 27° C. Again, at least there is a benchmarking exercise that can be done within a particular sector. Let me repeat: this is not about our wanting to say, "We have reached a certain temperature-we have to shut down the shop or the process." It is about saying, "We have reached a certain temperature, and now it is reasonable behaviour to introduce measures which will enable some form of discomfort to be eradicated." That is usually by ventilation and increased water.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  Clear evidence is emerging about the disparities between a unionised shop and a non-unionised one. In most employment situations-we have all been there-it is also better to have a clarity of relationship. Then the union can relate to management and say, "We've got a problem here and we will jointly resolve that problem." However, where there is a real difficulty is if there is no union organisation to do that. In that situation, therefore, the only fall-back is clear regulation and law. If the legislation is not clear, the individual is vulnerable to exploitation and they are unable to exercise their particular protections.

  There are real problems because we do not have clarity on a maximum temperature and those problems have emerged in this debate. There are problems about just regulating the overall workplace itself. What is happening at the moment is that, on an ad hoc basis, there are interventions by both unions and management to resolve matters, but in other areas there are no interventions and as a result employees are having to endure working in what I believe are unsafe and unhealthy working conditions.

  I tried to gain information about how the existing regulations are working, so I put down questions about enforcement and monitoring. I asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

  "how many instances of stress due to exposure to high temperatures in the workplace were reported to the Health and Safety Executive".

  I chose the years from 2005 to 2008 to ask about, to gain information on up-to-date records from the last four or five years. The response that I received from my hon. Friend the Minister who is here today was:

  "Instances of heat stress, as a medical condition, may be included in injuries reported under the Reporting of Injuries Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 but it is not possible to identify them separately."

  At the moment, therefore, the HSE is not even monitoring the separate issue of instances of heat stress.

  I then thought that I would at least see whether there are any examples of prosecutions, because we know from the surveys that have been carried out that high workplace temperatures are a serious issue for many workers. We have also seen from the surveys that, in some instances, workers have failed to induce action from their employers to resolve these problems. Therefore, what is the fall-back? Well, the fall-back is the HSE prosecuting employers who fail to meet the standards set out in the regulations.

  So I asked how many prosecutions there had been by the HSE in cases of failure to manage high temperatures in the workplace and again I asked about the years from 2005 to 2008. My hon. Friend the Minister reported:

  "From 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2008, the Health and Safety Executive took no prosecutions as a result of employers' failure to manage high temperatures in the workplace.

  Although outside the period specified in the question"-

  that is more recently-

  "legal proceedings have recently been initiated by HSE in relation to a workplace fatality in 2006-07 in which heat stress was implicated."-[Official Report, 23 February 2009; Vol. 488, c. 73-74W.]

  Let me just remind Members that, from the surveys that were undertaken by the bakers union, the TUC and other unions, we have report after report of heat stress and its serious effects on workers' health. Yet we now discover that the HSE is not monitoring heat stress and there has not been a single prosecution during the period that I asked about, from 2005 to 2008, and only now has one prosecution been commenced.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  That is exactly what has resulted in this debate. We know from our surveys that there is a problem out there. At the same time, however, we now know that the HSE is not monitoring it in any detail and we also know that it is not being addressed by legal action. Either our surveys are all wrong and people are working in ideal conditions across every sector of industry, or the regulations are wrong because they are not being implemented or cannot be implemented because of their vagueness and at times-I must say-their vacuousness.

  So what has come as a result of all the work that we-the bakers union and other unions, and the trade union group in Parliament-have put in, and as a result of the responses that we have had to our parliamentary questions? Well, what has happened is a major campaign in the last few years, which has taken up the pace during the last year in particular. I pay tribute to the work that has been undertaken by the bakers union itself.

  In the last year, the trade union group in Parliament wrote to my hon. Friend Lord McKenzie of Luton, who I must say has been nothing but helpful on this issue; he has made himself available for meeting after meeting to try to help to resolve this problem. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North placed an early-day motion before Parliament on a couple of occasions, which received 42 signatures initially and that number is building. We then wrote to my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (James Purnell), the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I see that he is now retiring from Parliament, which I regret because he was very helpful on this issue. He wrote to the HSE and asked it to review the current legislation and guidance.

  That review was undertaken and co-ordinated by a Mr. Ray Kemp; indeed he is Professor Ray Kemp. May I say that some concerns have been raised about the nature of that review? I would welcome some response from the HSE about how it appointed the individual who undertook that review. I just mention this point; I do not want to undermine people's reputations in any way, or anything like that. However, I am anxious. I saw on Mr. Kemp's website that he advertises himself as someone who

  "has also directed large scale EIAs"-

  environmental impact assessments-

  "and public consultations in support of planning applications".

  Those planning applications have included

  "oil and gas processing plant, waste disposal facilities, incinerators, airport expansion".

  I have a slight anxiety about someone who advertises themselves as being "in support of" planning applications rather than as someone who just independently assesses those applications. However, I will leave that point for other Members to consider and I would welcome a response from the HSE about its appointment procedures.

  Anyway, what came out of that review was basically a number of stakeholder meetings. What was interesting about those stakeholder meetings, involving both sides of industry, was that although no consensus was reached, a majority of those stakeholders-60 per cent. of them-concurred with the view that the current regulations were confused and not satisfactory, and that there was a need for change. All of us have been in those situations and it is difficult, particularly when there are both sides of industry there, to get absolute consensus. However, to have a majority of 60 per cent. saying that something needs to be done and that there needs to be clarity about the new processes and the new regulations is quite significant, I think.

  Unfortunately, the review came out with-well, I give Mr. Kemp's conclusions:

  "On balance, it is suggested that the workplace temperatures issue is not one that justifies active regulatory intervention but rather improved joint working between all parties to the issue-government, Trades Unions and Employers. This best reflects the new HSE Strategy for the Health & Safety of Great Britain".

  As a minimum, he recommends that amendments to the guidance

  "should be pursued through joint working and tripartite discussions".

  Unfortunately, that is where we have been for a number of years and it is a system that has not worked. I find that the arguments that Mr. Kemp seems to have put about are not just unconvincing but almost specious in part.

• [Mr. Graham Brady in the Chair] — Workplace Temperatures
  

  I fully agree and I will come on to that point. I think that that approach reflects a climate of opinion that has developed in Government and across parties too at the moment.

  Let me just briefly go through the arguments that Mr. Kemp has put forward. He argues that thermal comfort depends on a number of factors and that setting an upper limit would be counter-productive from a health and safety perspective. I fail to understand that argument. This is not an issue where we are saying that there must be only a maximum temperature and nothing else. What we are saying is that there must be a maximum temperature that exists alongside a series of other measures that recognise the differentiations that exist in different sectors and also different individuals' perception of thermal comfort.

  Mr. Kemp also said that scientific evidence does not point to a value for a maximum recommended temperature. Well, it is true that people feel heat differently, but they also feel pain and cold differently, and yet in those cases we have been able to put into practice maximum ranges that no employer should allow their work force to be vulnerable to. Again, I find it extremely difficult to accept that argument. It gives the employer maximum discretion but leaves the employee largely unprotected.

  Another argument is that

  "there is no evidence that thermal discomfort is a significant workplace hazard."

  Our surveys demonstrate that it is. The fact that the HSE is not recording incidents properly and not prosecuting reflects weaknesses within the HSE system. Every other survey undertaken has indicated that thermal discomfort is a significant workplace hazard that needs to be addressed.

  Another argument, which has been mentioned in this debate, is that the introduction of a maximum temperature would be costly to employers. The HSE and the Department are engaging in an impact assessment to consider the costs of introducing a maximum temperature associated with measures necessary to produce thermal comfort in the workplace. That argument has been used for decades to prevent developments in health and safety.

  I want to speak on behalf of the good employers. At the moment, bad employers are making good employers vulnerable. Bad employers can inflict thermal discomfort and risk on their work force by cutting costs, which also allows them to undercut good employers in the pricing of their products. That has always been the case with issues of health and safety. Regulation tries to create a level playing field for everybody.

  However, there are costs involved at the moment for all of us as we pay into the national health service for the treatment of people enduring and suffering from the lack of a maximum temperature. They are vulnerable to working in unsafe environments, and it has an impact on their health.

  The report failed to come to grips with the reality of the working environment endured by members of the bakers union and other workers across a range of sectors. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North hit on one reason for the resistance to a maximum temperature. We must understand it in the context of what has happened in health and safety over the past 20 years or so. There has been a stepping back from establishing clarity in the regulatory regime for the workplace. We have moved towards risk assessments, which is setting us back decades.

  The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions recently stated that

  "the UK has one of the best health and safety records in the world".

  That is not the case any more. I do not like to say it, but it is true. In the global health and safety risk index 2009, the UK came 30th out of the 176 countries listed. Among OECD nations, we are ranked 20th. The true picture is that in many instances we are falling back rather than going forward.

  Professor Steve Tombs and Dr. David Whyte have identified a lack of reporting. In some instances, as many as 80 per cent. of accidents and even fatalities at work related to the working environment are not reported. Andrew Watterson from the university of Stirling has argued that due to a lack of publication even of fatalities and their links to ill health, the number of people who die from occupational diseases is dramatically underestimated, as is the impact-particularly the long-term impact-of the working environment on health.

  The issue also relates to what has happened to the HSE itself. Cuts have been made to the HSE's overall expenditure, resulting in a fall in prosecutions. The overall picture since 1997-98 is that HSE prosecutions have declined by 32 per cent. and local authority prosecutions on health and safety grounds have declined by 34 per cent.

  Inspections by the field operations directorate, the HSE's largest inspecting section, have decreased by 26 per cent. and regulatory contacts fell by 19 per cent. between 2003 and 2004-05, the latest date for which I have figures. HSE investigations of major injuries fell by 43 per cent. between 2001-02 and 2006-07. In 2006-07, the HSE investigated only one third as many three-day injuries as in 2001-02. Not only are the regulations not clear, inspections, prosecutions and regulatory visits have declined dramatically.