Almost one in three of the 153 construction sites in Scotland visited put the lives of workers at risk and operated so far below the acceptable standard that HSE inspectors served 49 enforcement notices and stopped work on 27 of the sites, according to Jeanette Reuben, HSE's Head of Construction Scotland.

The news comes after The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out over 1,000 spot checks of refurbishment sites across Great Britain during February as part of its rolling inspection programme targeting poor performing sectors in the construction industry.

Througholut Great Britain, HSE Inspectors served a total of 395 notices, and stopped work on approximately 30% of sites visited.

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"In Scotland, we stopped work on site immediately during 27 inspections because we felt there was a real possibility that life would be lost or ruined through serious injury."

She said: "Our inspectors were appalled at the blatant disregard for basic health and safety precautions on refurbishment sites across the country.

"HSE will not tolerate negligence or poor safety standards on construction sites. It is totally unacceptable that so many lives have been put at risk and we will take all action necessary to protect workers, including closing sites and other enforcement action including reporting to the Procurator Fiscal. The construction industry should take ownership of this issue and do more to tackle poor standards on sites," Ms Reuben said in a warning to the refurbishment sector.

HSE's construction division reported that basic safety precautions were being flouted and issues such as work at height remain a huge concern. Other issues in Scotland included poor electrical installations and potential exposure to asbestos. Throughout Great Britian half of the enforcement action taken during this inspection initiative was against dangerous work at height, which last year led to the death of 23 workers.

Last year over half of the workers who died on construction sites worked in refurbishment, and the number of deaths on refurbishment sites rose by 61%.

(VB/JM)