Alarm at drop in Work Safety Prosecutions
21/10/05
Thompsons Scotland has expressed concern at the latest prosecutions statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive
The figures reveal that despite 220 workplace deaths last year alone and in excess of 150,000 employees being injured at work every year there has been a significant drop in the number of negligent employers being prosecuted for health and safety crimes with an equally alarming reduction in enforcement notices issued forcing employers to make their workplaces safer.
Figures published in the HSE Offences and Penalties Report show a 35 per cent fall in prosecutions of employers in the past three years and a 25 per cent drop in enforcement notices served in the last year.
Concern is also growing that Local Authorities are also taking fewer local companies to court as a result of accidents and injuries sustained at work. In the past ten years, council prosecutions have dropped by 50 per cent and there has been a 75 per cent fall in the number of enforcement notices issued.
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