Following the publication of the report on fatalities in the UK construction industry written by Rita Donaghy for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Mick Holder of the Hazards Campaign said: “There are many ideas in the report that, if implemented, will help to secure a far safer industry. It is now down to government to accept the report and act rather than ignoring the recommendations as they have in the past when some of the same ideas that are in this report came out of their own Select Committee. We now need a properly resourced Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so they are capable of making these good ideas workable ideas and for government to stop their obsession with pandering to irresponsible elements in business that believe operating safely is a “burden”.”

Hazards Campaign contact: 0161 636 7557

Mick Holder of the Hazards Campaign said: “Following the publication of two government reports in the past week calling for legal safety duties on company directors, the Hazards Campaign says ministers must act to make named bosses answerable for corporate safety crimes. Government must urgently agree to the recommendations of both these reports and get on with it !”

The comment follows the publication of a DWP report on construction fatalities and a follow up report by the government’s Work and Pensions Committee.

The DWP inquiry into the underlying causes of fatal incidents in construction was chaired by Rita Donaghy who made 29 recommendations including: “positive duties on directors to ensure good health and safety management through a framework of planning, delivering, monitoring and reviewing.”

This has been backed by the Work and Pensions Committee who said: “The Committee has endorsed the recommendation for positive duties on directors in Rita Donaghy’s recent report. “ The committee also gives support to the DWP’s construction report.

There are other areas where the two reports agree. Increasing worker involvement in health and safety issues, holding negligent employers to account and an end to blacklisting. The DWP report explicitly calls for more resources for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in construction and higher fines in the courts.

The Hazards Campaign has been calling for these initiatives for very many years.

Contact the Hazards Campaign:
0161 636 7557

For further information about the Hazards Campaign:

Workplace health and safety: follow-up report – Work and Pensions Committee

DWP inquiry into the underlying causes of construction fatal accidents: