HSE will visit farms across England, Scotland and Wales
HSE to visit 440 farms as part of national inspection campaign
Farmers are being reminded they must change their attitude towards safety as Britain’s workplace regulator readies itself for a wave of inspections in the coming months.
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will visit farms across England, Scotland and Wales as part of a push to change the culture in the industry and check for compliance with long standing legal requirements.
People on farms are 21 times more likely to be killed in a workplace accident than other sectors.
In total, there have been 161 deaths on Britain’s farms over the last five years – an average of 26 people each year. This includes members of the public and children.
The visits, from this week to next April, will focus on the main causes of death in farming, including working with cattle, operating and maintaining vehicles and falls from height.
They will also look at risks to members of the public, which often means the management of cattle around public rights of way, as well as child safety on the farm.
President of IOSH 2008, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
I am pleased that you are helping dispel some of the dafter myths that surround OH&S (a passion you and I clearly have in common) and the item clearly indicates that as with so many of our professional colleagues you are not about stopping fun on the pretext of H&S. It is only with the help of people such as yourself that we will eventually get the message across that OH&S is about bringing (as you so aptly put it) purpose and value to peoples lives
