Government Needs To Tackle The Grey Economy To Reduce Deaths On Construction Sites

Following the Construction Safety Summit on 17 September, chaired by Peter Hain MP, Secretary of State for Works and Pensions, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is warning that the Government needs to tackle the grey economy in the construction sector if it wants to reduce the number of accidents and deaths on construction sites.

Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB said: "FMB is committed to the highest standards of health safety but with over a 150,000 registered construction firms and only 24,00 affiliated to any recognized trade body there is an urgent need to get more builders to join a trade body such as the FMB to help improve health and safety standards in the sector. If VAT on repairs and maintenance were to be reduced from 17.5% to 5% this would help eliminate the cowboy builders."

FMB is also urging the Government to:

• Embed health and safety training into daily work practice. All too often health and safety training is regarded as an add on to daily work rather than an integral part of daily practice within the world of work. FMB wants to explore with the Government ways in which health and safety could be made to work more effectively using existing drivers and delivery mechanisms such as Construction Skills and CIS;
• Make all HSE health and safety training promotional material freely available. To reach a wider audience DVDs and videos should be made freely available to everyone and downloadable from the FMB website. FMB wants to explore the possibilities of closer links with HSE Publications with a view to including some of their literature in our membership packs. Such a move would help to change cultural behaviors;
• Increase funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Government funding for the HSE needs to be increased to ensure that new health and safety legislation is complied with.

The Federation has warned that new Construction and Design Management Regulations, which came in force in April 2007, are being undermined by the Government's refusal to invest in more Health and Safety Executive inspectors to police the new rules and ensure proper safety standards are maintained.


The number of inspectors has been in decline since 2002 and further cuts are being planned. Investing more money in inspectors will save lives and deter cowboy contractors.

Consideration also needs to be given to resurrecting the Worker Safety Advisor scheme. Third party advisors often have a more immediate effect on health and safety practices than site mangers.

(CD)