Construction union UCATT has warned that a huge fall in site safety inspections is risking workers’ lives.
It has discovered that last year the number of inspections of construction sites in Scotland made by the Health and Safety Executive fell 30%.
In 2013/14 there were just 881 inspections in Scotland, compared to 1,248 in 2012/13 and 1,250 in 2011/12. The fall coincided with the industry beginning to emerge from recession and an increase in activity in the industry.
Construction is the most dangerous industry in the UK, and in the year concerned there were five construction fatalities in Scotland.
Harry Frew, regional secretary for UCATT Scotland, said: “The HSE’s budget has been under attack and has been cut by a third since 2010, but that still does not explain why there has been such a sharp drop in inspections in Scotland. Construction workers need to have answers.”
Although the number of inspections fell 30% in Scotland the overall figure across Britain increased. There were a total of 11,303 inspections in 2013/14 an increase of 6.8%.
One of the fatalities during the year in the H&SE statistics was Norman Diamond, 60, of Kelty.
