Local authority inspector numbers fall by a third

The number of local authority inspectors has fallen by a third and the number of inspections made was down by a quarter according to new figures published by the Health and Safety Executive.

The report, Health and safety in local authority enforced sectors: HELA national picture 2002, found that between 1996-97 and 2000-01, the visiting rate fell from 325 per 1,000 premises to 251 per 1,000 (23%) and the number of inspectors fell from 1,590 to 1,070 (33%).

The report, published in November, covers the 1.2 million workplaces that come under local authority enforcement. These include offices, retail/wholesale distribution outlets, hotel and catering residential care homes and the leisure industry.

Compared to the previous year, the number of formal enforcement notices issued in 2000-01 fell by 5%, and average fines were 15% lower.

Provisional figures indicate that 12 workers died at work in this sector during 2001-02. This is seven less than the previous year. But 27 members of the public died on these premises over the last year - up from 21 in 2000-01.

The rate of non-fatal injuries fell again, as it had done over the previous four years. However the report itself says that in Labour Force Survey data, these rates have recently started to rise, indicating that fewer workers are reporting incidents.

The report is available from the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/books.htm or from HSE Books.