Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ask the Health and Safety Executive to issue guidance on the potential impact of low-level letter boxes on back injuries among postal workers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not currently intend to produce guidance for postal workers on preventing the potential impact of back injuries from low-level letter boxes. HSE already publishes a range of guidance to help employers understand how to assess and prevent the risks of musculoskeletal injuries to their workers.

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has carried out ergonomic research which includes a study on reaching letter boxes. The Building Safety Regulator is providing advice to the MHCLG on this research, including what changes may be necessary to the Building Regulations and its associated guidance. The research will be published in due course.