Construction UK Construction Directory
Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Share this page
Construction News
22/02/2016

Question Time Reveals Legal Delays Following Construction Deaths

Construction News Image
Prosecution delays and a fall in conviction rates for fatal construction accidents are some of the issues that have been brought up in a series of parliamentary questions.

The questions were tabled by Stephen Hepburn, Labour MP for Jarrow.

In answering the queries, Justin Tomlinson MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, at the Department for Work and Pensions, revealed conviction rates following a fatal construction accident had fallen to 35% in 2012/2013 compared with 51% in 2007/08.

Recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) research has indicated that 70% of construction deaths are caused or contributed to by management failures.

Previously, internal figures estimated prosecutions should occur following 60% of industry deaths.

-- Advertisement --
hss

In addition, low conviction rates do not appear to be due to a high level of not guilty verdicts as in recent years the HSE have achieved between 91-95% of successful prosecutions.

Mr Hepburn's questions also revealed since 2005, the average time between a fatal accident and a prosecution being approved was 751 days, although it takes even longer before a conviction occurred.

However, 30% of cases did not reach the prosecution stage until between three to four years after a worker's death.

Follow up questions revealed the length of time between a fatality and the start of a prosecution had further increased to 879 days.

Brian Rye, Acting General Secretary, of union UCATT, said: "These aren't meaningless figures these are human tragedies. They demonstrate that killer bosses are getting away scot free following the death of workers. Construction workers deserve to know why convictions are so low.

"The length of time between a fatal accident and a prosecution is far too long.

"These figures reveal there is something terribly wrong in how we are dealing with workplace accidents. From an already poor base we have seen a serious decline in conviction rates and an increase in delays before a prosecution even begins. This is causing human misery and the Government must not turn a blind eye to these failures."

(LM)

Latest Construction News

03/05/2024

Construction firm GRAHAM has started building work on a £19 million Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Workington town centre. The Centre will be located next to Cumberland Council's government-funded Innovation Hub which is also under development in Central Way. GRAHAM is the principal ...
03/05/2024

Significant progress is being made on a new £2 million recycling centre in Haverhill. Construction works are being completed by FCC Environment and its contractor DXI Regeneration Ltd, on behalf of Suffolk County Council. The facility will be operated by FCC Environment, which manages all of ...
03/05/2024

Midlands contractor G F Tomlinson has started work on a new primary school in Dunstall Park Estate, Tamworth. The work is taking place on behalf of Staffordshire County Council alongside project managers and concept architects, Entrust. The project was procured through the Constructing West ...
03/05/2024

Galliford Try has made another step in its carbon reduction journey with the deployment of a new digital platform across its Infrastructure projects. The platform, Qflow, automates data capture and processing by extracting information from delivery and waste tickets, using Artificial Intelligence ...
03/05/2024

Underfloor heating is the most efficient method of heating a room and is fast becoming the most popular option for new building and property refurbishments. As a result, more trade professionals are being asked to install underfloor heating and self-builders and renovators are using it as their ...
03/05/2024

Farrans is making significant progress at Barsham Water Treatment Works in Suffolk, where its client Essex and Suffolk Water is investing more than £49 million in upgrades to the site. Due to be complete in 2025, the project will provide improvements to the resilience and quality of drinking ...
03/05/2024

Work has been completed on a new bridleway bridge at Lindsells Level Crossing in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Work started in December 2022 on the fully accessible bridleway bridge which allows pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists and other users to safely cross the railway line, providing better ...
03/05/2024

Ideal Work UK has unveiled Microtopping®, a revolutionary cementitious coating that delivers the sleek, sophisticated look of polished concrete with unparalleled versatility and ease of application. ...
03/05/2024

Building work has commenced on a new development in Oundle that will bring self-contained extra care apartments to the area along with 62 homes and three self-build plots. Persimmon's East Midlands team have started preparing the Barnwell Walk site off St Christopher’s Drive in the town and expect ...
03/05/2024

Morgan Sindall has been appointed to two new Pagabo frameworks. The two frameworks are valued at £1.6 billion each and will run for four years. It was confirmed earlier this month that Morgan Sindall had been appointed to the new £1.6bn Healthcare Decarbonisation Framework from Pagabo, which has ...
Efco UK LtdThink Construction Skills Ltd.JWCBRICOFLOR UKAqua Direct LtdLakeside HireModern Plan Insulation LtdRe-flowFPS Air Compressors LtdSpeedy Street Solutions Ltd
Terms and Conditions
2024/05/06 16:37:17