Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of COVID-19 likely to have been contracted in the workplace have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for people working in (1) retail and supermarkets, (2) manufacturing, (3) food production, and (4) public transport in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland, and (d) Scotland.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers in relation to employees) to report certain cases of injury, disease and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive.
In relation to the current pandemic, where an individual has contracted COVID - 19 as a direct result of their work, those instances are reportable under RIDDOR either as a disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent (under Regulation 9 (b)) or as a death as a result of occupational exposure to a biological agent under Regulation 6 (2).
The table below outlines the number of Covid-19 disease cases reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) between 10 April and 25th July using standard industrial classification coding to identify the number of cases reported for (1) retail and supermarkets (2) manufacturing (3) food production, and (4) public transport in (a) England (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. This data is “as reported” by employers.
HSE does not hold data in respect of Northern Ireland as this is reported directly to the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) and is collated by them.
Table: Worker COVID-19 Disease reports made by employers to HSE and local authorities by disease severity, specific industry sector1, and country, 10th April – 25th July 2020
(Source: RIDDOR disease reporting)
Country | Specific industry sector (as reported by employer)1 | SIC2 code | Total COVID-19 notifications |
England | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Division 47 | 18 |
| Manufacturing | Section C | 67 |
| Manufacture of food products3 | Division 10 | 43 |
| Other passenger land transport | Group 49.3 | 6 |
Wales | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Division 47 | 0 |
| Manufacturing | Section C | 0 |
| Manufacture of food products3 | Division 10 | 0 |
| Other passenger land transport | Group 49.3 | 0 |
Scotland | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | Division 47 | 0 |
| Manufacturing | Section C | 0 |
| Manufacture of food products3 | Division 10 | 0 |
| Other passenger land transport | Group 49.3 | 0 |
Footnotes
1Industry as reported by employers.
2Standard Industrial Classification (SIC): The current system used in UK official statistics for classifying businesses by type of activity they are engaged in.
3Manufacturing of food products is a division within the overall Manufacturing section.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that there have been no reports under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 for COVID-19 from community pharmacies.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
For dispensing chemists, there have been 6 notifications of COVID-19 disease (non-fatal) made under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) to HSE and Local Authorities between 10 April and 25 July 2020.
No assessment has been made of the number of reports received.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, how many cases of COVID-19 considered to have been contracted in the workplace have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive under the reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations for (1) hospitals, (2) GP practices, (3) community pharmacies, and (4) prisons.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers in relation to employees) to report certain cases of injury, disease and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Where an individual has contracted COVID-19 as a direct result of their work, those instances are reportable under RIDDOR under Regulation 9 (b) either as a disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent or under Regulation 6 (2).as a death as a result of occupational exposure to a biological agent.
The table below outlines the number of COVID-19 disease cases reported to HSE between 10 April 2020 and 30 May 2020 using standard industrial classification coding to identify the number of cases reported for (1) hospitals (2) General Practitioner practices (3) pharmacies and (4) prisons. This data is ‘as reported’ by employers.
Specific industry sector (as reported by employer)1 | SIC2 code | Total Covid-19 notifications | Of which: | ||
Fatal notification | Non-fatal notification | ||||
Hospital activities | 8610 | 1,526 |
| 28 | 1498 |
General medical practices | 8621 | 51 |
| 3 | 48 |
Dispensing chemists | 4773 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 |
Justice, judicial activities | 8423 | 4 |
| 0 | 4 |
Grand Total |
| 1,581 |
| 31 | 1,550 |
Footnotes
1Industry as reported by employers.
2Standard Industrial Classification (SIC): The current system used in UK official statistics for classifying businesses by type of activity they are engaged in.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the duty of employers to report cases of COVID-19 to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 where the employees have tested positive in a healthcare setting.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers) to report certain cases of injury, disease and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive.
In relation to the current pandemic, where an individual has either been exposed to or contracted coronavirus (SARS- COV-2) as a direct result of their work, those instances are reportable under RIDDOR either as a Dangerous Occurrence (under Regulation 7 and Schedule 2, paragraph 10) or as a disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent (under Regulation 9 (b)) or as a death as a result of occupational exposure to a biological agent under Regulation 6 (2).
For an incident to be reportable as a Dangerous Occurrence, the incident must result (or could have resulted) in the release or escape of the coronavirus.
For an incident to be reportable as a disease due to occupational exposure to a biological agent there must be reasonable evidence suggesting that a work-related exposure was the likely cause of COVID-19.
Where any person dies as a result of occupational exposure to a biological agent, such as coronavirus (SARS- COV-2) this must also be reported by the responsible person.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were (1) killed, or (2) seriously injured, due to accidents in the agriculture sector in each year since 2000.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The available data is published at https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/history/index.htm but reproduced in the tables below.
Table 1: Number of fatal injuries to both workers (employees and the self-employed) and members of the public in the agricultural sector (a), 2000/01-2018/19.
Source: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
|
|
| |
Year | Workers | Members of the public |
|
2000/01 | 46 | 7 |
|
2001/02 | 39 | 2 |
|
2002/03 | 35 | 3 |
|
2003/04 | 44 | 6 |
|
2004/05 | 37 | 3 |
|
2005/06 | 33 | 8 |
|
2006/07 | 33 | 7 |
|
2007/08 | 46 | 2 |
|
2008/09 | 25 | 5 |
|
2009/10 | 39 | 5 |
|
2010/11 | 34 | 8 |
|
2011/12 | 35 | 6 |
|
2012/13 | 31 | 5 |
|
2013/14 | 27 | 4 |
|
2014/15 | 32 | 4 |
|
2015/16 | 27 | 2 |
|
2016/17 | 26 | 3 |
|
2017/18r | 29 | 4 |
|
2018/19p | 32 | 7 |
|
Table 2: Number of reported (c) non-fatal injuries to workers (employees and the self-employed) in the agricultural sector (a), 2000/01-2018/19.
Source: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
Year | Workers |
| |
2000/01 | 2,053 | ||
2001/02 | 2,195 | ||
2002/03 | 1,768 | ||
2003/04 | 1,275 | ||
2004/05 | 1,241 | ||
2005/06 | 1,145 | ||
2006/07 | 1,048 | ||
2007/08 | 1,203 | ||
2008/09 | 1,230 | ||
2009/10 | 1,287 | ||
2010/11 | 1,035 | ||
2011/12 | 1,187 | ||
2012/13 (b) | 946 | ||
2013/14 (b) | 957 | ||
2014/15 (b) | 1,040 | ||
2015/16 (b) | 994 | ||
2016/17 (b) | 963 | ||
2017/18 (b) | 922 | ||
2018/19p (b) | 902 | ||
Footnotes
(a) Agriculture defined as Section A, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, of the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification.
(b) Due to a major change in the RIDDOR reporting requirements in April 2012, injuries reported prior to 2012/13 are not directly comparable with later years.
(c) RIDDOR requires employers to report certain workplace non-fatal injuries to workers, generally the more serious (current reporting requirements are for those injuries that result in more than 7 days absence from work or specified on a pre-defined list of injuries). It is known that employers substantially under-report these non-fatal injuries.
(d) HSE does not publish estimates of reported non-fatal injuries to members of the public. Reporting of such incidents is highly variable by industry, with some sectors over-reporting and others under-reporting. Therefore, the count does not give a robust indication of risk to members of the public by industry sector. However, such reports continue to be received by the enforcing authorities and the decision for operational intervention is decided on a case-by-case basis.
r- revised; p- provisional
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to acknowledge and take account of 53 week rent years for recipients of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
No year contains 53 weeks. This perceived issue arises where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday and, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, seeks 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.
Universal Credit is paid on a monthly cycle. Where a tenant has a weekly rental liability, they will have to make either 4 or 5 rent payments in any one month. This means that claimants are ‘overpaid’ by UC in months where they have to make four rental payments and ‘underpaid’ where they make five. But over time this broadly balances itself out. It is impossible to accurately align weekly and monthly payment cycles at all points in time.
Where a tenant makes a 53rd weekly rent payment on the last Monday of the 2019/20 year, only two days of that payment relates to a liability falling within that year (ie payment covering Monday and Tuesday of that week as Wednesday falls in the new year). Thus, five days of that payment is an advance payment for the following month and that month has only four Mondays and hence four rent payments. The combination of the advance rent payment and the ‘overpayment’ in April 2020 means that the shortfall is immediately recovered.
There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of significant rent arrears accumulating for victims of domestic violence who separate from their partners, given that Universal Credit is paid in equal amounts to both parties.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We have made no assessment because we believe that support is in place for individuals who may find themselves in these circumstances. Universal Credit is one monthly payment to a household. If a member of the household leaves due to domestic violence, they can make a new claim to Universal Credit. At this point there is a range of measures to help a victim of domestic violence to prevent the risk of rent arrears, including fast track payments to be made on the same day. If people are in urgent need, we can make payment into an alternative nominated bank, building society, post office card or credit union account.
Universal Credit also has provisions for when someone is temporarily absent from their home through fear of domestic violence and abuse. In these circumstances we do not require a permanent address. If the person intends to return to their former home, they can receive their housing costs for both a former permanent home and temporary accommodation for up to a year. If an individual does not intend to return, they can receive these costs for up to four weeks for both properties. There is similar provision in respect of the housing cost element of Universal Credit.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of health and safety legislation that is currently in force.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Professor Löfstedt’s Reclaiming Health and Safety for All: An independent review of health and safety legislation (2011) found that the framework for health and safety law was broadly right, but recommended simplifying its structure and the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidance to help business comply more easily. The Government’s response to the Review was published in March 2015: ‘A final report on implementation of health and safety reforms’. A copy of the report is attached.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) deaths, and (2) serious injuries, (a) on farms, and (b) in the agricultural sector, have occurred in each year since 1990 until the last year for which records are available.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The available information is given in the following tables.
Table 1: Number of fatal injuries to both workers (employees and the self-employed) and members of the public (a) on farms and (b) in the agricultural sector each year (where data is available) from 1990/91-2016/17. | |||||
Source: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) | |||||
Farms (a) | Agriculture Sector (b) | ||||
Year | Workers | Members of the public | Workers | Members of the public | |
1990/91 | - | - | 52 | 15 | |
1991/92 | - | - | 50 | 5 | |
1992/93 | - | - | 40 | 12 | |
1993/94 | - | - | 38 | 3 | |
1994/95 | - | - | 46 | 5 | |
1995/96 | - | - | 40 | 5 | |
1996/97 | - | - | 55 | 9 | |
1997/98 | - | - | 40 | 11 | |
1998/99 | - | - | 46 | 9 | |
1999/00 | - | - | 36 | 8 | |
2000/01 | - | - | 46 | 7 | |
2001/02 | 37 | 2 | 39 | 2 | |
2002/03 | 29 | 3 | 35 | 3 | |
2003/04 | 19 | 6 | 44 | 6 | |
2004/05 | 30 | 3 | 37 | 3 | |
2005/06 | 32 | 8 | 33 | 8 | |
2006/07 | 28 | 7 | 33 | 7 | |
2007/08 | 41 | 1 | 46 | 2 | |
2008/09 | 22 | 5 | 25 | 5 | |
2009/10 | 35 | 5 | 39 | 5 | |
2010/11 | 30 | 7 | 34 | 8 | |
2011/12 | 27 | 6 | 35 | 6 | |
2012/13 | 29 | 5 | 31 | 5 | |
2013/14 | 26 | 4 | 27 | 4 | |
2014/15 | 30 | 3 | 32 | 4 | |
2015/16r | 26 | 2 | 27 | 2 | |
2016/17p | 26 | 3 | 27 | 3 | |
Table 2: Number of reported non-fatal injuries to employees (a) on farms and (b) in the agricultural sector each year (where data is available) from 1990/91 to 2015/16 | ||
Source: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) | ||
Year | Farms (a) | Agriculture sector (b) |
1990/91 | - | 1,761 |
1991/92 | - | 1,827 |
1992/93 | - | 1,844 |
1993/94 | - | 1,760 |
1994/95 | - | 1,721 |
1995/96 | - | 1,687 |
1996/97 | - | 2,135 |
1997/98 | - | 2,005 |
1998/99 | - | 1,863 |
1999/00 | - | 2,067 |
2000/01 | - | 1,967 |
2001/02 | 1,852 | 2,066 |
2002/03 | 1,488 | 1,680 |
2003/04 | 985 | 1,175 |
2004/05 | 951 | 1,147 |
2005/06 | 892 | 1,058 |
2006/07 | 806 | 986 |
2007/08 | 908 | 1,117 |
2008/09 | 967 | 1,143 |
2009/10 | 996 | 1,183 |
2010/11 | 800 | 948 |
2011/12 | 881 | 1,110 |
2012/13 (c) | 681 | 861 |
2013/14 (c) | 688 | 861 |
2014/15r (c) | 785 | 936 |
2015/16p (c) | 727 | 883 |
Footnotes | ||
Non-fatal injury data for 2016/17 will be published in November 2017 | ||
(a) Farms defined as Division 02, Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities, of the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification. | ||
(b) Agriculture defined as Section A, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, of the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification. | ||
(c) Due to a major change in the RIDDOR reporting requirements in April 2012, injuries reported prior to 2012/13 are not directly comparable with later years. | ||
- Due to changes in the Standard Industrial Classification, data only available for Farming from 2001/02 | ||
r- revised; p- provisional | ||
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many reviews have been announced in Parliament by the Department for Work and Pensions in the last six years; how many have been completed; how many are still ongoing; and what is the timescale for completion of those reviews still ongoing.
Answered by Lord Henley
There is no formal definition of “reviews”. The Department regularly reviews policies, programmes, projects and pilots to ensure that they meet their objectives. All important announcements are made to Parliament first by way of ministerial statements, replies to parliamentary questions, or in debate contributions by Ministers.
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.