Call to improve workplace health and safety

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A Labour MP has urged the government to make health and safety at work a priority for its education and skills agenda.

George Howarth introduced a 10 minute rule motion calling for legislation to increase provisions in education and vocational training.

Writing in the House Magazine ahead of Wednesday's debate, he cited figures showing that 247 people were killed at work last year, with 274,000 seriously injured and 2.2 million suffering an illness they attributed to their employment.

His bill signalled a "real commitment" to ensuring a healthy workforce, the Knowsley North and Sefton East MP argued.

And he claimed that preventing accidents not only benefits individuals but also leads to a more efficient and productive workforce.

The Health and Safety (Education and Training) Bill aimed to support Dame Carol Black's review, which argued that "good work" is good for health and family, Howarth said.

"It is through teaching health and safety in national, vocational and professional curricula that we will provide our society with the skills it needs to remain healthy and to sustain a more competitive workforce," he wrote.

He described the Education and Skills Bill, announced in the draft legislative programme, as an "unmissable opportunity to embed health and safety in the national curriculum and improve the health and safety skills of young people".

Institutions teaching undergraduate courses such as engineering, should be required to include some health and safety modules, he said, stressing the need "to safeguard against the lottery we currently have in this area".

Pointing to figures showing that 64 of those killed at work in the last decade were under 19 years old, he warned that "inexperience leads to an increased risk of workplace injury".

"Consequently, it's vital that we look to incorporate health and safety awareness into education before our young people begin work-based learning or start work, and that we provide adequate supervision and induction training, so that fewer lives are avoidably damaged," he added.

Speaking during the debate, Howarth said: "Accidents at work destroy lives and cost money - many, if not all, can be prevented.

"No amounts of regulation or training can wholly eliminate human risk or error. But it is right that dangerous practices should be regulated.

"The principal focus of this bill is to change mindsets so that by the time young people reach employment, they already have an understanding of the principles and practice of good health and safety."