Health and Safety at Work

My Lords, this has been an interesting debate, as one might expect from one introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Harrison. As for the rather snide remarks of the noble Lords, Lord Berkley and Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, my job is to represent the views of my colleagues. They do not have to listen to me do it. There has been a certain amount of experience expressed from the Members of your Lordships’ House with trade union backgrounds on the Benches opposite. My party does not have that sort of expertise, but it has a certain amount of expertise in employment, and as employers, which I hope to reflect. The facts on the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act since it became law in 1974 have been fairly well aired, not least by the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, and great improvements in that area have been made. In that year there were some 651 fatal injuries to employees in the production industry and in some service industries. The comparable figure for 2002–03 was 182, a reduction of over 70 per cent, at a time when the workforce has grown by 12 per cent. Internationally, as I am sure the Minister will tell us, Great Britain has the second lowest number of industrial fatal injuries, at 1.7 per 100,000 workers compared with the EU average of 2.8. That is the good news. Although there is some doubt about the figures, which I hope the Minister will clear up for us, I am told that the bad news is that despite a decrease of 7 per cent from the previous year, 2004–05 saw 220 fatal injuries to workers, around half of which occurred in two industries, the construction industry and the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry. How wrong the agriculture lobby was in the early years not to be involved in this. I am not sure where driving for work fits in but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Gibson, said, it must make up a significant proportion of the rest. Your Lordships are absolutely right to say that we cannot be complacent. As John Donne said all those years ago,"““Any man’s death diminishes me””." Many years ago there was a popular song with the most infuriating music, which I would be out of order, I am sure, to sing in your Lordships’ House.