Health and safety warnings for NE businesses

2009-10-30
Member News

North East businesses need to take health and safety more seriously, according to figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

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Despite figures showing a nationwide reduction in the numbers of people killed, injured or suffering from ill health at work, the North East has bucked the trend.

There were nine deaths in 2008/09 compared to seven in 2007/08 and the number of serious workplace injuries was also up from 1,310 in 2007/08 to 1,362 in 2008/09.

David Snowball, HSE Regional Director for the North East and Yorkshire, said: “The fact that nine people in the North East failed to return home from work last year is a tragedy. We owe it to those workers, to their families and friends, to increase our efforts to ensure the risks are properly managed in the workplace.

“These latest figures show companies in the North East need to do more to make their workplaces safer.”

The HSE has taken a tough line with firms in the North East who put workers at risk by breaking safety legislation. It brought 45 offences to court in 2008/09, of which 36 led to conviction.

Meanwhile, statistics show there has been a significant reduction in the numbers of people killed across the UK. Workplace fatal injuries fell from 233 in 2007/08 to a record low of 180 in 2008/09