West Midlands government office region (GOR)

Statistics of occupational ill health, safety and enforcement

• In 2008/09, an estimated 106 000 people in the West Midlands, who worked in the last year, believed they were suffering from a work-related illness, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS).  This equates to a prevalence rate of 4000 per 100 000 people (4.0%) working in the last 12 months.
• The incidence rate of reportable non-fatal injury in the West Midlands was 1000 per 100 000 worker (1.0%) in 2007/08 (three-year average), based on results from the LFS.
• In 2008/09, the LFS showed that an estimated 2.7 million working days (full-days equivalent) were lost in the West Midlands due to workplace injury and work-related ill health.
• In 2008/09(p), 12 workers were fatally injured at work, compared with 22 workers in 2007/08. The number of major injuries to employees recorded in West Midlands rose from 2 553 in 2007/08 to 2 585 in 2008/09.
• In the West Midlands, 119 offences were prosecuted by HSE, and 38 offences were prosecuted by local authorities in 2008/09.