Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Official Report 1102KB pdf

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No Falls Week 2024

The final item of business this evening is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-12524, in the name of Clare Adamson, on no falls week 2024.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises that 13 to 17 May 2024 marks No Falls Week; considers that this week is an opportunity to recognise the powerful campaign dedicated to promoting safe working at height, providing an opportunity for organisations in all sectors to focus on working at height safety; notes that the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that 40 people lost their lives due to a fall from height in Great Britain in 2022-23, that falls from height were responsible for 30% of all workplace deaths, and that, it understands, every year thousands of non-fatal falls take place, estimated at as many as 100 every day; understands that the No Falls Foundation has produced a toolkit with resources and guidelines to assist organisations in planning and implementing activities during No Falls Week, and notes the calls encouraging employers not only to contribute to the broader safety narrative, but also to demonstrate their dedication to the wellbeing of their employees.

17:50  

It is a privilege to open this debate to mark the inaugural no falls week in our national Parliament. I thank my MSP colleagues who supported the motion and those who are speaking this evening. I also thank the campaigners of the No Falls Foundation, the trade unions, safety advocates, Scottish Hazards and all those who are pushing for this vital issue to be addressed. No falls week falls between 13 and 17 May.

I give a special mention to Peter Bennett, chair of the Access Industry Forum and chair of the board of trustees of the No Falls Foundation, for his work. Peter gave a presentation on falls from height at our cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness, and it was that presentation that drove home to me the severity of the issue and prompted me to seek to secure this debate.

The No Falls Foundation charity is co-ordinating the first no falls week, and it has produced a toolkit, with resources and guidelines, to assist organisations in planning and implementing activities during the week to promote safe working at height all year round.

The Access Industry Forum represents the 10 leading trade associations and federations involved in working at height. Between them, they train more than 300,000 people every year to work safely at height, and it is estimated that more than 1 million businesses and 10 million workers carry out work involving some form of working at height every year. That gives a picture of the scale of the issue and emphasises the potential for injury or death that many people are exposed to while they work. When we delve into the figures behind the campaign and, more importantly, the people behind those figures, it becomes clear why the campaign is needed. The latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that 40 people lost their lives due to a fall from height in the United Kingdom in 2022-23. Falls from height were responsible for a staggering 30 per cent of all workplace deaths, and thousands of non-fatal falls take place every year—there are estimated to be as many as 100 every day.

There is considerable underreporting of workplace injuries, particularly among self-employed people. Bluntly, the data that we have does not reveal the full picture. Improving outcomes will require collaboration across the UK, as some of the policy areas are reserved. In general, accurate data collection across safety policy remains a crucial problem.

The AIF has renewed its call for a new, simplified system of reporting to accurately reflect the cause of workplace accidents. We hear the same call from an array of safety organisations. Clear and accurate reporting is necessary for informed preventative measures to address the cause of accidents. Data on the circumstances surrounding falls and on the common causes of falls from height is severely limited. We have poor data on whether falls are from existing permanent structures or from temporary equipment and on whether they are from equipment that is not designed for working at height, and we do not know how many of those who were injured or killed were formally trained.

Despite the immense economic and human cost of accidents, the pressure that accidents put on front-line health services and the tragic impact on people and their families, we still have problems with reporting, which makes preventative action even more difficult. Was an accident caused by a lack of training, by negligence or by faulty equipment? We cannot answer those questions without more robust data collection. We have an idea of the economic cost of inaction, but we cannot calculate the cost to those people who have lost a loved one.

Working at height always has inherent dangers. At the cross-party group, we were told of falls of only 2 inches, which had resulted from trips on different levels, leading to serious injury. Every year, hundreds of thousands of incidents are avoidable, as research by safety organisations has long shown. We cannot allow an approach to safety policy that does not respond to the information that we have and does not look to improve the situation with regard to falls from height in the future.

We must redouble our efforts on data collection, on training and standards, and on working with trade unions and employers to ensure that people who are working at height are adequately equipped. If we have fragmented accident data, we will get fragmented policy action. Simpler and easier reporting would ensure that regulators can focus their intervention on training and prevention.

Collaboration between Government, employers and workers is a must, and trade unions have played a vital role in raising awareness among workers and empowering people to speak up on safety in their workplace. I also commend the work of Scottish Hazards in that regard. The HSE will remain a pivotal stakeholder in this area, and Trading Standards Scotland plays a crucial role in ensuring that suppliers fulfil their duty of care to make products that are safe and fit for purpose.

New technology will also play a role. We have modern construction techniques, innovations in safety and wearable technologies. New wonders such as cobots have significantly reduced or eliminated the risks of working at height. I was delighted to visit New College Lanarkshire’s Motherwell campus, in my constituency, to see cobots being used to repair wind turbines. Such work would normally have been undertaken by people abseiling on to the equipment, which is one of the most dangerous jobs that can be done in our renewable energy sector.

We must embrace those innovations. We can also use drones as part of our monitoring of buildings and bridges. As someone who took part in the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee’s Forth road bridge inquiry in session 4 of Parliament, I know how important it is to review the safety aspects of the bridges, and that can happen safely and more regularly with the use of drone technology. A fall from height can be life changing. Many people do not return to their job after an incident, and it can have serious consequences for that person and for their family and colleagues.

Once again, I thank every member who is taking part in the debate. In Peter Bennett’s sobering presentation to our cross-party group, what stood out to me were not the figures that we know, but the figures that we do not know but should know in order to make work safe for people and ensure that they come home at the end of the day.

17:58  

I thank Clare Adamson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. We definitely need to talk about how to reduce deaths in industries throughout Scotland.

It is so easily done, however. Perhaps there has been a storm a few days ago and the shed roof has been damaged; there is a roof tile out of place or a bit of painting needs done, just out of reach. I have been there myself and I have seen it done many times: trying to repair or install something at height while balancing on the top rung of a ladder, hanging from the bucket of a telehandler or narrowly balancing on a bit of wood—a two-by-four—while crawling across roofing sheets, each time potentially moments from a catastrophic accident. I admit to being foolish enough to have done that myself a few times, often acting before thinking, because the job needed to be done.

I recall a genuine incident in which I went to get a ladder during a storm to fix a bit of roofing sheet on my sheep shed, which needed a new screw put in. I remember that, as I went to grab the ladder, I was thinking, “What am I doing? It’s 60mph winds outside and I’m about to go on this roof.” I quickly came to my senses and left the sheet making its own music in the wind.

From my experiences in agriculture, I can only imagine what it must be like in industries such as construction. It is a shocking statistic that 30 per cent of workplace deaths are caused by falls from heights. No one is immune—it is easy to imagine that it is about working at the top of the statue of Liberty, painting the Forth road bridge or cleaning windows on the Shanghai tower, but it is just as much about those who are working in shops, hospitals and factories—or, indeed, in any occupation.

I am delighted to welcome no falls week through the work of the No Falls Foundation—a week when we reflect on how we ensure that we are safe at height. It is incumbent on employers to ensure that employees have the correct training and equipment; there is no excuse for employers not ensuring that staff are protected.

To those lone workers like me—the farmers, the small business owners, the digger drivers and the tradesmen who work on their own—I say, “Your life is important.” It is far more important than the cost of the equipment that will keep you safe while working at height, and it is far more important than the roofing sheet banging in the wind, the cable that has come loose, the bird’s nest, the hydraulic hose or the loose tile. I say to those workers that they should select the right personal protective equipment, make use of a good anchor point, use the proper equipment and know how to use it—and they should not skip that local training course. A day spent now might just, one day, save your life.

My thanks go to all those behind the No Falls Foundation. Its website, which I looked at today, is packed with advice, links and safety information—it is worth a look, no matter who you are or where you work.

18:01  

I congratulate Clare Adamson on securing the debate, which is timeous during national no falls week.

I have entitled this speech “Ladder-related myths”, to which I will shortly come. Like the previous speaker, I have observed from my experience the different safety precautions that tradesmen who are working on my house take. For example, every so often, the house—in common with many—requires sprucing up by way of painting, not just doors and so on, but the rones and gutters. I have a two-storey cottage, and there is also the solid-roof conservatory with its doubled-glazed glass roof.

Previously, my regular painter, who is self-employed, dealt with those tasks with only ladders. Like a trapeze artist, he tippy-toed across the wooden spine of the conservatory while I watched anxiously, lest my very own Humpty-Dumpty fell through that glass roof. Maybe he, too, realised retrospectively that it was a bit foolhardy, or at least that he was too old for the ladder routine, so the next time that I called him, he put me on to a colleague, who insisted on scaffolding. I was relieved—it put another thousand pounds on the job, but I would rather that than somebody falling through the roof.

Over the next two weeks, I was entertained as fit young men swung about the scaffolding, and I knew that they, and my glass roof, would——in that order of importance—remain intact. In researching this speech—I did research it—I found a whole list of ladder-related myths. That is a phrase that I never thought that I would use in Parliament, but here are a few of those myths.

The first myth is that the HSE has banned the use of ladders on building sites. That is not the case. Ladders and stepladders can be a sensible and practical option. They can be used for work at height when the use of other work equipment is not justified because of the low risk or short duration: no more than 30 minutes at a time.

Myth 2 is that you need to be formally qualified before using a ladder at work. No, you do not—you need to be competent. That means that you have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to use a ladder properly for the work that you will carry out, or, if you are being trained, that you work under the supervision of someone who can perform the task competently.

Myth 3 is that you are working at height if you walk up and down a staircase at work—I do not give that much space. No, you are not—work at height does not include walking up and down a permanent staircase in a building.

Myth 4 is that you need to have two feet and one hand on a stepladder at all times when you are carrying out a task. That is not true either. When you need to have both hands free for a brief period to do a job using a stepladder, such as putting a box on a shelf, hanging wallpaper or installing a smoke detector on a ceiling, you need to maintain three points of contact at the working position. That is not just two feet and one hand; it can be two feet and your body.

Myth 5—the last myth—is that the HSE has banned the use of ladders to access scaffolds and that you will be fined if you ignore that ban. That is not true either. Ladders can be used for access as long as they are of the right type, a suitable grade of industrial ladder, in good condition and effectively secured to prevent movement.

There you go—those are five ladder-related myths.

Although I have treated the subject with something of a light touch, it is a very serious business, as my colleague Clare Adamson aptly described. As she indicated, the sensible use of ladders is important not only in the workplace but in people’s own homes, when they are using them by themselves.

Thank you, Ms Grahame. I see that you have found a new specialist subject.

I call Carol Mochan, who is the final speaker in the open debate.

18:05  

I thank Clare Adamson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I also thank the two speakers before me, both of whose contributions I enjoyed.

On behalf of Scottish Labour, I welcome no falls week 2024 and restate our commitment to promoting safe working at height. I also reaffirm our support for and solidarity with all workers who have been injured in employment, their families, and families who have tragically lost loved ones due to workplace incidents. It is so important that we talk about such matters in the Parliament.

I pay tribute to the No Falls Foundation, which organises no falls week and, as other members have said, promotes this critical work, which forms a base from which campaigns can grow and deliver results. As the motion states, across Great Britain, in the year 2022-23, 40 people lost their lives due to falls from height. That statistic is absolutely devastating, as all members across the chamber will agree. Falls from height accounted for almost a third of all workplace deaths, which confirms how important it is that we make progress on preventing them.

The workplace environment is different for everyone; some people work in more precarious and challenging conditions than others. Regardless of the workplace environment, though, the safety of workers is absolutely paramount. It has been wonderful that, in the past few weeks, we have discussed these matters so often across the Parliament. At the very least, every worker should expect that their place of work is safe, that precautions are in place and that safety features are explained in all detailed information there. Where that is not the case, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that employers recognise the importance of employees’ safety and wellbeing, and that the expected standards are not only met but exceeded.

As a member of the Opposition, that leads me to a key point, which is the need not only to raise issues with the Government but, at times, to challenge it. My colleague Mark Griffin recently proposed an excellent new bill, which was brought to the Parliament just last month. It would have created an industrial injuries council of experts and a new employment injury benefit. It would have been a landmark bill that would have set Scotland apart in recognising the impact of workplace injuries, including falls from height, as well as long Covid, dementia among footballers and cancer among firefighters. That proposal underlines how the Parliament can demonstrate its dedication to the wellbeing of workers across Scotland.

At times, the Opposition’s role is to raise—again and again—what the Parliament can do to make a difference. I recognise that everybody is working to ensure that we can make a difference, and I am sure that we can do it by working together. Safety at work is absolutely paramount. I am proud that my party stands with the trade unions and with workers in an effort to reduce incidences of falls and other health and safety matters at work. I hope that Scotland will lead the way on legislating on such issues and that I can play my part in holding the Government to account on them.

I again thank Clare Adamson, who lodged the motion, and the other speakers in the debate.

I invite Tom Arthur to respond to the debate.

18:09  

I commend both the No Falls Foundation for inaugurating no falls week and also the range of partners with whom it works. I thank members from across the chamber for their contributions.

I not only thank and commend but pay tribute to Clare Adamson for her tireless work in this area. For many years, Clare has been the convener of the cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness. In my inaugural ministerial engagement in Parliament as the Minister for Employment and Investment, it is a particular privilege to have the opportunity to respond to Clare Adamson. I know that another tireless champion of safety in the workplace, our late and dearly missed friend Ron Ewing, would be pleased to see the debate take place. I again put on record my thanks to Clare Adamson for all the work that she undertakes in this area.

I also commend the contributions from across the chamber. The contribution from Tim Eagle was very powerful. He highlighted the key point that it is easy in the moment not to think and to find ourselves in precarious situations that, if we had perhaps taken a few moments of pause to consider, we would not have allowed ourselves to be in. That key point is something that I took from reading the No Falls Foundation website—it is about always challenging ourselves, undertaking training and the importance, as Tim Eagle and other members highlighted, of always having the correct and proper equipment. I commend the work of the No Falls Foundation in this area.

As has been highlighted, the figures are quite striking. Across Britain, 40 lives were lost due to a fall from height in 2022-23, which is 30 per cent of all workplace deaths. That is not happening only in the more obvious settings that we might think of; such tragic incidents occur in shops, offices and other places where the risk might not seem so apparent.

On top of that, every year, thousands of non-fatal falls take place—perhaps as many as 100 every day. That has an economic impact as well. In 2022-23, up to 992,000 working days were lost through non-fatal falls from height, and the estimated total cost was more than £847 million. The number of lives lost and affected by falls from height at work is disturbing enough, but the statistics are made more impactful when we remember that behind them are the lives of individual people, their families, friends and colleagues. I commend the No Falls Foundation for its work to highlight real-life accounts and to provide insight into the consequences in people’s lives.

Today, in the chamber, we recognise the work of the No Falls Foundation to prevent accidents in the workplace through increasing awareness and understanding, and to support those whose lives have been affected. I will add my voice in encouraging employers to access the foundation’s resources hub and to consider how they might be able to participate this week and what action they can take to promote the wellbeing of their employees.

One of the issues is the self-employed. It is different if there is an employer, because an employer has a duty of care, so he or she, or the company, has a liability. The issue is where self-employed people might be trying to cut costs—which I understand—when they take on jobs. Like my man on his ladder, they might think, “Well, I’ll just do it, because the scaffolding would put another big bill on it.” How do we get through to the self-employed, who might also not be reporting what happens to them?

That is an incredibly important point. It is incumbent on us all, working in partnership, to promote best practice. Organisations such as the No Falls Foundation, along with business representative organisations, trade unions, Scottish Hazards and others can all help to create an environment where that information is readily available and to promote best practice, especially for those who are self-employed or operating in small and microbusinesses.

Health and safety at work is important to us all. Good working environments are key to good health, which is important for people accessing and staying in work, and safe workplaces contribute to good mental health. Safe and healthy working conditions are also an internationally recognised human right. However, it is important to point out that health and safety is a reserved matter and is not something that this Parliament or this Government has direct control over.

The health and safety executive is responsible for enforcement across the UK, including in Scotland. However, we have representation on the partnership on health and safety in Scotland, which brings together key players in workplace health and safety in Scotland, and we are taking action through the powers that we have.

Our fair work approach recognises the importance of safe workplaces that support people’s health and wellbeing, and it fully supports our commitments to embed equality, inclusion and human rights in everything that we do. I welcome the contribution of the many employers in Scotland that are already implementing fair work practices.

Between 2019 and 2023, fair work first was applied to approximately £4 billion-worth of public sector funding, contracts and grants. In July last year, we went further and strengthened fair work conditionality in public sector grants. We now require employers that are in receipt of grants to pay at least the real living wage and to provide appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice.

Effective voice is one of the critical elements of fair work, providing channels for workers to innovate, raise concerns and be involved in decisions about how their workplace operates. Effective voice can take many forms, but the involvement of workers is key in underpinning safe and healthy workplaces.

It is our long-standing position that a progressive approach to industrial relations, along with stronger protection for workers, is at the heart of a fairer, more successful society. Trade unions can and do make a strong contribution to supporting health and safety and identifying and managing risk.

A crucial element of our support for safe and healthy workplaces is the services that are delivered by Healthy Working Lives, Salus and working health services Scotland. They support and advise employers, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises that do not have access to in-house occupational health services.

I recognise the importance of the issue and I commend the work of the No Falls Foundation and its partners. It is an example of how critical safe, healthy and fair workplaces are to workers, employers and Scotland’s economy as a whole.

Meeting closed at 18:16.