06/11 3.5 million working days lost in Scotland

3.5 million working days lost in Scotland

Statistics published today by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC)
reveal 3.5 million working days were lost in Scotland due to work-related
injury and ill health in 2004/05, equivalent to an estimated 1.7 days
per worker which is similar to the rate of 1.9 days per worker in
2003/04. Work-related ill health accounted for around 2.8 million days
lost, and injuries for around 0.7 million days.

In Great Britain as a whole, the equivalent figure for 2004/05 was 35
million working days lost, and this fell to 30 million days in 2005/06;
(the Scotland figure for this most recent period is not yet available).

The report can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics The
document itself can be found at
http://www.hse.go.ukk/statistics/overall/hss0506.pdf Other statistics
have been published earlier in the year, please see notes to editors.

Stewart Campbell, HSE Director for Scotland commented:

"I am pleased to see a small reduction in the number of working days
lost in Scotland, even though this is not statistically significant.
Work-related injury and Ill health is still exacting too high a toll on the
Scottish workforce and placing too great a strain on the Scottish
economy. But the Health and Safety Commission, HSE, and Local Authorities
working together with key stakeholders in Scotland through the
Partnership on Health and Safety In Scotland see
http://www.hse.gov.uk/scotland/partnership.htm are determined to
continue to drive the trend downward."

Also published today were the statistics for work-related illness and
injuries to Scottish workers. The latest figures show that in 2005/06
160,000 people in Scotland suffered from an illness which they believe
was caused or made worse by their present or past work. The rate of 4,100
per 100,000 people ever employed was lower in Scotland than in England
or Wales, but the difference was not statistically significant. A
health issue of specific interest in Scotland is the impact of the
asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma. Mesothelioma rates for Scotland are
similar to those for Great Britain as a whole, although the averages disguise
quite wide variation within countries, related to the industrial
activity in years gone by.

The Report confirms that reported fatal injuries to workers (that is,
employees and self-employed workers taken together) in 2005/06 decreased
to 32, compared with 37 in 2004/05.
The rate of fatal injuries to workers also fell, from 1.4 per 100,000
workers in 2004/05 to 1.3 per 100,000 workers in 2005/06. (In 04/05 the
figures included nine fatal injuries resulting from one incident).

The figures for fatal injuries to employees fell from 33 to 23, and the
equivalent rate from 1.4 to 1.0. The rate of fatal injuries to
employees was generally downward from 1996/97 to 01/02 but rose in 02/03 and
has fluctuated since. There were 2,740 reported major injuries to
employees and 9,556 over-three day injuries to employees. In Scotland the rate
per 100,000 employees was 118.5 for fatal and major injuries and 436.3
for over-three day injuries, compared with the Great Britain averages
of 109.5 and 445.2 respectively.
There were 14 fatal and 963 non-fatal injuries to members of the public

The services industries accounted for approximately 54 to 62 per cent
of fatal and major injuries to employees over the five-year period. In
2005/06 the highest rate of fatal and major injuries in Scotland was in
the construction industry.

For Britain as a whole, reported non-fatal major injuries fell for the
second year in a row to just under 30,000, a drop of 6 per cent on
2004/05. Agriculture and construction remain the two most hazardous
industries with average rates of self-reported non-fatal injuries to workers
over the past three years of 2020 and 1790 per 100,000 respectively.

ENFORCEMENT

In 2005/06 108 offences identified by HSE Field Operations Directorate
in Scotland and forwarded to the Procurator Fiscal, were dealt with.
The great majority of cases involving 54 charges, resulted in
convictions. The average fine per conviction was £5,624 an increase on the
previous year (£5,071). For all HSE Directorates (excluding railways) 113
offences were dealt with, resulting in 59 convictions. The average fine
imposed was £274,546; this includes a fine of £15 million. If this fine
is excluded the average fine would be £20,659. The average fine in cases
taken by local authorities was £1,285.

Commenting on the enforcement figures, Stewart Campbell said:

"I understand the concerns regarding the fall in enforcement and we
have recently undertaken an review of our enforcement activity, and we
expect to see this trend reversed in time. I remain concerned that in
Scotland, although the largest health and safety fine ever was imposed
during 2005/06, the average level of fine imposed for breaches of health
and safety legislation is still lower than that imposed in the rest of
Great Britain, and in relation to prosecutions following fatal accidents,
is very variable.

30/08 APPEALS FOR WITNESSES AND ARRESTS

APPEALS FOR WITNESSES AND ARRESTS
Police in Dumfries and Galloway are appealing for witnesses to the following incidents:
Car damaged – Dumfries
Four cars were damaged while they were parked in Glebe Street over the past few days.
In the first incident a red VW Golf was scratched while it was parked in Glebe Street between 08.10hrs and 18.30hrs on Friday 25 August.
A blue Audi A3 was also scratched while it was parked in Glebe Street between 08.15hrs and 17.30hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
A blue Ford Fiesta was scratched while it was parked on Glebe Street between 12.25hrs and 16.30hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
A silver Vauxhall Astra was scratched while it was parked on Glebe Street between 08.15hrs and 12.05hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
Injured in rtc – Dumfries
A 33 year old woman from Dumfries sustained an injury to her face and grazes to her body after she was struck by a motorcycle on Buccleuch Street Bridge at around 18.45hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
Window smashed – Gretna
The window of a vacant house in Esk Road was smashed at around 19.15hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
Appearing in Court – Gretna Green
A 23 year old man from Gretna Green is expected to appear at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Tuesday 19 September 2006 after an 18 year old man from Gretna Green sustained a fractured skull and bruising to the brain during an assault outside the pizza shop in Springfield at some time between 22.00hrs on Saturday 26 and 01.00hrs on Sunday 27 August 2006.
Wrong way on motorway – Lockerbie
Police are keen to trace the driver of a red Rover 200 living in the Eaglesfield or Ecclefechan areas after an elderly man was seen driving a red Rover 200 north bound on the south bound carriageway of the A74(M).
This incident occurred at around 19.40hrs on Tuesday 29 August 2006 between junctions 19 and 20.
Door smashed – Stranraer
The bottom panel of the door of a flat in Millhill Street was smashed at some time between 22.00hrs on Sunday 27 and 01.00hrs on Monday 28 August 2006.

30/08 SENTENCED AT HIGH COURT IN GLASGOW

SENTENCED AT HIGH COURT IN GLASGOW
A 39 year old man from the Cumnock area was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday 18th August 2006 after facing charges of misuse of drugs and failing to appear at his trial.
The man, Robert Heron Montgomery, was charged with offences relating to his possession of supply quantities of cannabis, cannabis resin and amphetamine, with a potential value of around £500,000 in the Sanquhar area on the 10th March 1999.
Montgomery, who absconded prior to his initial appearance at court for trial, was subsequently traced and arrested during December 2005.
Detective Inspector Gary Coupland said: “This conviction is very welcome and shows the people of Dumfries and Galloway that this forces’ commitment to targeting drug dealers is still very strong.
“I hope it serves as a loud and clear message to other dealers that they will be pursued, caught and prosecuted.”