Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help improve safety at motorsport events.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations provide a framework for securing the health, safety and welfare of those working in the motorsports industry. Employers and the self-employed are required to comply with this law. A further duty is placed on them by Regulation 3 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires every employer to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks to those employees and non-employees in relation to risks arising from conduct of their undertaking and share the significant findings.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) holds the national policy lead for occupational health and safety in the leisure industry, including recreational motorsports, however, local authorities (LAs) are primarily responsible for enforcing health and safety law at individual events. HSE regularly liaises with colleagues from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) who also have an interest in this topic.
HSE and DCMS attend the LA motorsports forum which meets quarterly online. A number of the motorsports authorising bodies have presented to this group to raise awareness of key topics. HSE and the forum have produced a best practice aide-memoire for LA regulatory visits. This document is under final LA consultation before moving to publication shortly.
HSE seeks to promote safety at events by making practical advice and guidance available for organisers of motorsport events. The HSE publication ‘Managing health and safety at motorsports events’ describes the main risks at motorsport events and some of the steps that can safeguard the health and safety of employees, participants, and spectators. This guidance is made freely available by HSE at https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg112.pdf
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support expanding employer-led return-to-work schemes for those with mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that employer-led return-to-work schemes play in supporting individuals with mental health conditions to remain in or re-enter the workforce. A range of initiatives and services are in place to help employers create inclusive, supportive environments that facilitate sustainable employment for those experiencing mental ill health.
Occupational Health (OH) services can be effective in supporting return-to-work planning. OH professionals provide tailored assessments and advice to help employers understand the impact of mental health conditions on work capacity and identify appropriate adjustments. This includes phased return plans, workplace modifications, and ongoing support to ensure a safe and productive reintegration into work. OH services also help employers meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 by advising on reasonable adjustments.
The Support with Employee Health and Disability digital service, which provides tailored guidance for employers managing health and disability in the workplace, including mental health. The service, which includes guidance on disclosures, having conversations, legal obligations and making reasonable adjustments, is in national live testing and continues to be updated on an iterative basis, including in response to user research.
The Access to Work scheme offers personalised support for individuals with mental health conditions. This includes grants for workplace adaptations, specialist equipment, and tailored mental health support such as one-to-one sessions with professionals and workplace coping strategies. The scheme complements employers’ legal duties by funding support beyond reasonable adjustments, helping individuals stay in or return to work.
Additionally, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance and resources through its Working Minds campaign, which encourages employers to take proactive steps to prevent work-related stress. The campaign promotes a five-step approach—Reach out, Recognise, Respond, Reflect, and make it Routine—to help businesses address the root causes of stress and foster mentally healthy workplaces.
These efforts are part of a broader Government commitment to reduce economic inactivity and improve employment outcomes for people with health conditions. Importantly, the Keep Britain Working Review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is exploring what more employers and government can do to tackle economic inactivity due to ill-health and disability.
Together, these measures aim to empower employers with the tools and knowledge needed to support employees with mental health conditions, ensuring that more people can get in and get on in work.
Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of fatalities that occurred in the workplace were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive in the (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 reporting year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) puts duties on employers and other people in charge of work premises to report and keep records of all work-related fatalities, work related injuries, diagnosed cases of re-portable occupational diseases, and certain 'dangerous occurrences' (incidents with the potential to cause harm).
When reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) all fatalities undergo an initial triage investigation to determine whether the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies or not. An assessment is made to determine whether a full investigation is appropriate. Consideration is given to whether all reasonably practical precautions were taken, evidence is still available, the death was ‘work-related’ or it resulted from natural causes. Where appropriate, this will result in a full investigation by an Inspector.
The table below only shows the number of RIDDOR reportable fatal injuries in HSE enforced premises and investigated by HSE.
Year | No. RIDDOR reportable fatalities enforced by HSE |
2022/23 | 156 |
2023/24 | 166 (r) |
2024/25 | 154 (p) |
Note:
Figures for 2024/25 are provisional and are marked as 'p' in the tables. They will be finalised in July 2026 following any necessary adjustments. Figures for 2023/24 have been revised (finalised) and are marked as 'r' in the tables.
Data on all fatalities in the workplace including for example, deaths from natural causes, is not available.
Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many injuries occurred in the workplace in the (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 reporting year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) puts duties on employers and other people in charge of work premises to report and keep records of all work-related fatalities, work related injuries, diagnosed cases of reportable occupational diseases, and certain 'dangerous occurrences' (incidents with the potential to cause harm).
The purpose of RIDDOR is to inform the relevant enforcing authority (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), local authorities or other enforcing authorities) that a work-related accident or event has happened to enable an appropriate regulatory response where required.
Not all injuries that occur in the workplace are ‘work-related’ and not all work-related injuries are reportable under RIDDOR. Only certain specified work-related injuries, injuries to member of the public where they are taken to hospital for treatment and injuries resulting in employees being absent from work for over 7 days are reportable. Therefore, RIDDOR only provides a partial picture of injuries occurring in the workplace.
The following data is the number of RIDDOR reports relating to specified injuries to employees, work-related injuries to members of the public and over-7-day absences for HSE only i.e. it does not include injury reports notified to local authorities, the Office of Rail and Road or the Office of Nuclear Regulation who also regulate under RIDDOR.
2022/23 – 59,774
2023/24 – 61,708
[Figures for 2024/25 have not been finalised yet.]
Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of injuries that occurred in the workplace were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive in the (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 reporting year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) puts duties on employers and other people in charge of work premises to report and keep records of all work-related fatalities, work related injuries, diagnosed cases of reportable occupational diseases, and certain 'dangerous occurrences' (incidents with the potential to cause harm).
The purpose of RIDDOR is to inform the relevant enforcing authority (Health and Safety Executive (HSE), local authorities or other enforcing authorities) that a work-related accident or event has happened to enable an appropriate regulatory response where required. This is to ensure businesses maintain compliance with their duties and responsibilities under health and safety law.
HSE does not investigate everything that is reported. When a RIDDOR report is received, each report is considered against HSE’s published Incident Selection Criteria to help determine what will be investigated. Consideration is also given to the seriousness of the incident and the level of risk, or potential risk, that exists along with any previous enforcement history of the duty holder.
The following data is for RIDDOR reports received by the HSE relating to work-related fatalities, work related injuries (workers and non-workers) and over-7-day absences.
Year | RIDDOR reports | Accidents investigated | % investigated |
2022/23 | 59,910 | 1,949 | 3% |
2023/24 | 61,846 | 1,956 | 3% |
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive plans to update its Standard Occupational Classification asbestos mortality statistics to include (a) deaths over 75 and (b) non-occupational exposures.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive does not currently plan to change the basis for its mesothelioma and asbestosis mortality statistics by last occupation of the deceased. These statistics use routinely collected data from the Office for National Statistics (for deaths in England and Wales) and National Records of Scotland (for deaths in Scotland) which currently only includes coded information on last occupation up to age 74 for deaths in England and Wales. The accuracy of occupational information is known to decline at older ages.
The purpose of these statistics is to examine the relative frequency of recording of different occupations across this standard age range as evidence about the occupations most likely to be substantial sources of past asbestos exposure. These kinds of analyses cannot directly address the question of non-occupational exposure or provide a definitive assessment of past sources of occupational risk. They do however, together with other research evidence, help to identify the kinds of work associated with the highest risks historically.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much the Intellectual Property Office has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Intellectual Property Office does not hold a complete central record of all spending on equipment to support home working as provision can be made utilising office surplus or stock equipment. Information is only centrally recorded where the individual costs exceed £500 or recorded as a reasonable adjustment in line with Health and Safety legislation for Occupational Health.
The Office has spent the following on equipment for safe and productive home working:
(i) 2022-23 = £27,069.13
(ii) 2023-24 = £8250.11
(iii) 2024-25 = Zero spend
To obtain comprehensive data for each of the last three years, it would be necessary to contact holders of asset registers across the organisation, which would not be possible within the timeframe for responding to a Written Parliamentary Question, and would incur a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will require the Health and Safety Executive to collect data on asbestos-related ovarian cancer cases.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. Under Regulation 9 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), it requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job. When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease.
Estimated numbers of cases of certain kinds of cancer other than mesothelioma and lung cancer that are attributable to past exposure to asbestos are available from previous HSE sponsored research into the burden of occupational cancer in Great Britain. However, ovarian cancer in relation to asbestos was not considered at the time this research was carried out, and so estimates are not currently available and HSE has no plans to collect this data.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it his policy to collect data on the number of workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume who have received diagnosis of (i) nasal, (ii) septum, (iii) throat, (iv) stomach, (v) bowel, (vi) kidney, (vii) liver, (viii) lung and (ix) bladder cancer.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority (HSE or Local Authority). Regulation 9 of RIDDOR requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job.
When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease. This would capture whether the person is a welder and/or carries out welding as part of their job. There is also the option to report the specific type of cancer being diagnosed.
HSE also collects data on occupational cancers through the Health and Occupational Reporting (THOR) network. This includes:
Where available, occupational information such as job title may be recorded, potentially identifying welders.
However, welders may also be exposed to other carcinogens, such as asbestos, during their work so it is difficult to directly link a diagnosis of cancer specifically to exposure to welding fumes.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the potential impact oforganophosphate exposure on occupational health outcomes in agricultural workers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety on farms. The potential impact of organophosphate exposure on occupational health outcomes in agricultural workers, taking account of occupational exposure risk and current state of knowledge, is the basis for industry specific guidance in relation to organophosphate exposure and sheep dipping.
This information is published in HSE Agricultural Information Sheet AIS41 (Sheep dipping: Advice for farmers and others involved in dipping sheep) and is freely available to download from the HSE website.
HSE has no plans to carry out a further review at this time.