China on Friday commemorated the 80th anniversary of the beginning of nationwide war against Japanese aggression. A ceremony was held at the Museum of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression near Lugou Bridge, also known as … read more
Two London based construction contractors, Sager Construction Limited (SCL) and Shaun Dixon Services Ltd (SDSL) have today been fined after an employee fell more than three metres when a scaffold board that he was standing on broke.
Southwark Crown Court heard SCL had been appointed the principal contractor for the construction of a shopping centre and residential units in Studd Street London. On the 19 February 2015 the 64-year old employee of formwork contractor SDSL was working to install a primary beam in the basement when he fell from the top work platform.
The worker suffered fractures to both of his feet and deep cuts to his head and arms as a result of this fall from height.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that workers were allowed to work off scaffold boards which were in a poor condition. It was also found that the companies involved tolerated particularly poor practices in relation to work at height while erecting the formwork.
Sager Construction Limited of Sager House, 50 Seymour Street, London, W1H 7JG pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and has been fined £34,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,577.
Shaun Dixon Services Ltd of Warwick House, 116 Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, IG9 5LQ was found guilty of breaching Regulation 13 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 at an earlier date.
The company has since entered liquidation and has been fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,119.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Gabriella Dimitrov said: “The worker is lucky to have not sustained more serious injuries as a result of this fall from height.
It is entirely foreseeable that accidents will occur where work at height is being carried out without suitable work platforms and other measures to prevent workers from falling. HSE will take action to ensure that duty holders are held to account for any failings.”
Notes to Editors:
Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases.
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A total of 44 people have been died or missing after floods hit Ningxiang County in central China’s Hunan Province, local flood prevention headquarters said Friday. Heavy downpours pounded the county since June 22, leading to the area’s worst natural … read more
The government has rightly confirmed that a successful economy requires sensible control of public spending and borrowing. The pressures that require more to be spent on schools and social care do not mean we can afford to relax public spending generally. Growth in the economy will generate more tax revenue to meet the needs of priority services for more money. Action still needs to be taken to remove less desirable public spending, to root out waste, and to run the public sector better.
Conscious that many readers here want to see financial discipline in the public sector, I am today writing about it to give you more opportunity to state what you think could be better done or removed from the budgets. In the middle of this current 5 year Parliament the state will no longer have to send the large gross and net contributions to the EU. From March 2019, assuming a sensible deal or no deal, we will no longer be sending that money to the EU. Of course the UK Parliament will wish to spend money on farming, universities and regional development where we were getting some of our money back from the EU. This will leave us around £12 bn of the net contribution to spend, as I explained with my suggested post leave budget before the referendum vote. This will take some of the pressures off.
There are many other areas to look at to save money. The government could press on more vigorously with its office and property rationalisation programme. It can initiate something for something pay deals to promote smarter working in return for higher pay. It can do more to cut its demands for fuel and other supplies.
I voted against HS2. It looks as if we are now committed to that expensive project. In the light of that the budget of Network Rail should be reviewed. Network Rail can improve efficiency, dispose of more property assets, and encourage more use of existing track to boost revenues. There are opportunities for getting more value for money from the railway budget.
The large overseas aid budget is pledged by Act of Parliament which this Parliament is unlikely to amend. There should be more scope to include as part of this budget the many costs the UK already incurs in helping low income countries and refugees. When our armed forces are undertaking humanitarian or peacekeeping work for a low income country all their costs doing that should be part of the overseas aid budget.
Introducing more Right to buy purchases by tenants of social housing would raise more private capital, to offset the housing budget. There are a range of public sector assets which could be sold as an alternative to additional borrowing.
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