Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Health and Safety Executive inspection officials are based in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As the table below shows, as of 31 October 2025, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) currently employs 899 full time equivalent (FTE) inspector staff in all grades and roles including trainees, managers and specialists with warrants. There are currently 666 FTE Band 3 and 4 inspectors who undertake the delivery of the operational division workplans. This includes inspections and investigations into reported incidents and concerns and where non-compliance with health and safety legislations is identified, the inspectors take regulatory action in accordance with HSE’s published Enforcement Policy Statement.
Although HSE staff work across England, Scotland and Wales, these figures are based on the office location where the staff are employed.
Job Band | England | Scotland | Wales | Total |
SCS | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
Band 1 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 32 |
Band 2 | 153 | 27 | 11 | 191 |
Band 3 | 402 | 96 | 42 | 540 |
Band 4 | 98 | 19 | 9 | 126 |
Total | 686 | 146 | 66 | 899 |
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many inspections of upholstery and furniture workshops have been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Between 2019 and the present date, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have inspected 2104 premises whose primary business includes the manufacture of office and shop furniture, kitchen furniture, mattresses and other furniture (based on the Standard Industry Classification (SIC)).
The breakdown by year is as follows:
Year | Number of Inspections |
2019/20 | 304 |
2020/21 | 145 |
2021/22 | 192 |
2022/23 | 419 |
2023/24 | 627 |
2024/25 | 319 |
2025 to date | 98 |
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many in-person inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below shows the number of proactive inspections that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has carried out for the last 6 years in Scotland. Six years has been provided, not 5, as the period requested includes the COVID 19 pandemic where additional COVID specific visits which were carried out as a response to that situation. For that reason, we have included the year 2019/2020 for pre-COVID context.
Total Number of Proactive Inspections Undertaken by HSE since 1st April 2019 at sites in Scotland Government Office Region
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Total with COVID 19 inspections | 1732 | 2085 | 1566 | 1570 | 1341 | 1444 |
Total not including COVID 19 inspections | 1728 | 559 | 1295 | 1569 | 1341 | 1444k |
To note: The figures are based on raw live data and can be subject to change due to updates to historical cases. Therefore these figures may differ to the figures published in HSE’s Annual Reports.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many safety incidents were reported at the British Steel Limited site in Scunthorpe in each quarter of the last year.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, British Steel Limited reported 11 cases in Q1 2025, 15 in Q2, 7 in Q3 and 7 to date in Q4, across all of their sites, including Scunthorpe. In the year to date there have been 30 Lost-Time Injuries, and 44 high-potential near misses.
Since the 12 April, to ensure the continued safe operation of the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025, the UK Government has made health and safety a priority, with £8.1 million spent on essential improvements, including structural inspections, safety-critical equipment, and protective workwear. British Steel appointed a new Health, Safety & Environment Director and additional resources have strengthened oversight, supported by external specialists delivering hazard awareness and cultural change programmes. I emphasised the continued importance of health and safety in discussions with British Steel's executive team during my visit to the Scunthorpe site on 6 November.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to make (a) local fire services and (b) the Environment Agency statutory consultees for battery energy storage sites.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government takes fire safety extremely seriously. In GB, fires at battery sites are rare and are mitigated by a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025), lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24).
We do not intend to make fire authorities or the Environment Agency statutory consultees on planning applications involving Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS). However, DEFRA is currently consulting on the principle of including batteries under the scope of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and would provide for ongoing regulatory inspections.
Asked by: Lola McEvoy (Labour - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to strengthen fire safety regulations for battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In GB, fires at battery sites are rare and are mitigated by a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025)[1], lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24)[2].
To complement this regulation, DEFRA is consulting on including batteries within the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and provides for ongoing regulatory inspections.
[1] https://modoenergy.com/indices/industry-metrics?r=gb&m=operationalSites
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics-monitor
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of safety regulations for battery energy storage sites.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In GB, battery fires are rare and are mitigated by a robust framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive, requiring responsible parties to ensure safety throughout a battery’s deployment. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025)1, lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24).2
To complement this regulation, DEFRA is consulting on including batteries within the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and provides for ongoing regulatory inspections.
[1] https://modoenergy.com/indices/industry-metrics?r=gb&m=operationalSites
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics-monitor
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74887 on Retail Trade: Health and Safety, whether his Department has received representations from (a) trade unions, (b) retail employers and (c) lone workers on concerns about safety (i) at the Co-op and (ii) in other retail environments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade or received any representations from trade unions concerning Project Lunar. Project Lunar is an internal policy that the Co-op is introducing, so it is not a matter for HSE or the government to be involved in.
Under health and safety law it is the employer (Co-op) who is responsible for protecting its employees and others from harm. The employer must identify the risks and take action to eliminate them, or if this is not possible, to control the risk. An employer must manage any health and safety risks before people can work alone.
HSE and Local Authorities (LAs) work together as co-regulatory partners to enforce health and safety law, with LAs being responsible for regulation of health and safety in most retail businesses. Both HSE and LAs provide advice and guidance on the management of risk and what the law requires, conduct inspections and investigations, and take enforcement action where appropriate.
Any correspondence received by HSE raising workplace health and safety concerns is fully assessed, and subsequent actions can include, providing advice or guidance, further investigation or referral to another regulator where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74887 on Retail Trade: Health and Safety, how his Department assesses whether (a) employers and (b) local authorities are effectively managing risks for lone workers in these environments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade or received any representations from trade unions concerning Project Lunar. Project Lunar is an internal policy that the Co-op is introducing, so it is not a matter for HSE or the government to be involved in.
Under health and safety law it is the employer (Co-op) who is responsible for protecting its employees and others from harm. The employer must identify the risks and take action to eliminate them, or if this is not possible, to control the risk. An employer must manage any health and safety risks before people can work alone.
HSE and Local Authorities (LAs) work together as co-regulatory partners to enforce health and safety law, with LAs being responsible for regulation of health and safety in most retail businesses. Both HSE and LAs provide advice and guidance on the management of risk and what the law requires, conduct inspections and investigations, and take enforcement action where appropriate.
Any correspondence received by HSE raising workplace health and safety concerns is fully assessed, and subsequent actions can include, providing advice or guidance, further investigation or referral to another regulator where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74887 on Retail Trade: Health and Safety, whether (a) he and (b) the Health and Safety Executive has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on Co-op's Project Lunar.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade or received any representations from trade unions concerning Project Lunar. Project Lunar is an internal policy that the Co-op is introducing, so it is not a matter for HSE or the government to be involved in.
Under health and safety law it is the employer (Co-op) who is responsible for protecting its employees and others from harm. The employer must identify the risks and take action to eliminate them, or if this is not possible, to control the risk. An employer must manage any health and safety risks before people can work alone.
HSE and Local Authorities (LAs) work together as co-regulatory partners to enforce health and safety law, with LAs being responsible for regulation of health and safety in most retail businesses. Both HSE and LAs provide advice and guidance on the management of risk and what the law requires, conduct inspections and investigations, and take enforcement action where appropriate.
Any correspondence received by HSE raising workplace health and safety concerns is fully assessed, and subsequent actions can include, providing advice or guidance, further investigation or referral to another regulator where appropriate.