Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall am 11:13 am ar 23 Chwefror 2005.
Gerry Sutcliffe
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Trade and Industry) (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs)
11:13,
23 Chwefror 2005
I congratulate my hon. Friend Mr. Donohoe on securing the debate, and welcome the fact that he has brought this matter forward. It is an important issue, and he eloquently made clear the effect on our constituents. As the Minister responsible for consumer affairs, I am greatly interested in the points that he raises. I may not today be able to give him all that he seeks in relation to the issue of garden safety, but I will certainly take away and consider many of the things that he asked me to do.
We should reflect on my hon. Friend's important airing of this issue in the context of his involvement in gardening throughout his time as a parliamentarian. Hon. Members will know that gardening is a subject that is close to his heart. He helped to ensure that the BBC's "Gardeners' Question Time" was broadcast from the House of Commons Terrace and, in 1997, he named a new variety of rose after the then Speaker, Betty Boothroyd. He is also, as he said, the secretary of the all-party group on gardening and horticulture. I recognise the good work that he does to foster better communication between the industry, Parliament and our constituents. He was right to point out the effect of the industry—it adds £5 billion to the economy—and the employment opportunities that it creates.
The timing of the debate is appropriate. As we move towards the end of February, many people's thoughts inevitably turn away from winter, when we are more inclined to survey our gardens from the comfort of our own homes, and towards the warmth of spring, which is a time for preparation and sowing—and ultimately to summer, when we can enjoy the fruits of our work. Already, here in London, we can see the first shoots of green that will, in a short time, become bright yellow daffodils. As nature refreshes its own palate, the gardeners among us look forward to the next project in our everlasting quest for the perfectly manicured lawn, the neatly coiffured hedge and the reddest roses—although, as I represent a Yorkshire Constituency, perhaps that should be the whitest rose.
As my hon. Friend said, the garden is a place to be enjoyed, a place to leave behind the stresses of day-to-day life and, given the time, a place to snooze with the Sunday newspapers—not that my hon. Friend would do that. As he said, the lawn does not cut itself, the hedge does not get trimmed by looking at it and the roses need regular tending. Regular maintenance is not seen as a chore by the gardener, but as part of a relaxation process. With common sense, all those jobs can be undertaken swiftly and safely by the enthusiastic amateur, and a whole industry has grown up, as my hon. Friend said, around the activity to supply the right tools, the hardiest and most beautiful plants and any manner of garden accessory that it is within the capability of man to design.
Despite the idyllic picture, it is sadly a fact, as my hon. Friend says, that accidents in the garden can and do happen. Based on the most recent available figures from the home accident surveillance system data, it is estimated there were about 2.7 million accidents in homes in the UK in 2002, some 300,000 of which occurred in the garden. Approximately half of those accidents involved people aged between 15 and 64 and about a third involved children aged up to and including 14 years old. By cause, the highest proportion of accidents—about two fifths—involved slips, trips and other falls. About one quarter of injuries in the garden occurred as a result of being struck by a moving or other object, and three in 20 resulted from pinches, crushes, cuts, tears or punctures.
As I know that my hon. Friend is particularly interested in ladder safety, let me record that the proportion of garden accidents resulting from falls from ladders was minimal at around only 2 per cent., or approximately 6,000 accidents, which in the context of a population of 60 million is one person in every 10,000. However, I am aware of the horrendous cases that have come before us regarding how people use ladders and it is right that my hon. Friend raises that issue with us.
Generally, it is estimated that about 15 per cent. of all garden accidents—44,000 in total—involve the use of garden tools or equipment, and high on the list were lawnmowers, strimmers, hedge trimmers, spades, shovels and forks, secateurs, shears and even the humble flowerpot. Detailed research undertaken in 1996 showed that few accidents involved the use of garden chemicals. It is estimated that in 2002 poisoning and the effects of chemicals accounted for just over 1.5 per cent. of all home accidents.
It is easy to get carried away with such statistics. The fact that HASS recorded injuries from hedge trimmers and flowerpots in the same categories shows the enormously wide range of accidents that can occur, from the potentially dangerous to the not very serious. Raw numbers do not tell the whole story. Some of the accidents in the statistics reflect the fact that children at play will and do fall over and bang into things, and that will continue regardless of the precautions that are taken by the most safety conscious parents.
Some accidents in the garden, as in all walks of life, are avoidable and stem from the adoption of poor behaviours and bad practices. Garden accidents are thankfully mainly minor, with the most serious generally being fractures sustained during a fall. However, there is no doubt that the greater use of gloves would avoid some of the cuts and abrasions and other injuries, as would protective footwear.
The nature of a small number of garden fatalities, which are predominantly among young adults, varies from year to year. Many of those result from the use of accelerants on bonfires and barbecues, but some involve tragic child-drowning accidents in garden ponds and pools. My hon. Friend is right to raise such issues from the aspect of consumer protection and it is in that vein that I will be considering the many things that he raised with me.
My hon. Friend wrote to me last year, enclosing a letter from Mr. Kitching of Haygate Engineering Co. Ltd, manufacturer of the Henchman range of access platforms, who expressed concern about a fatal gardening accident that was reported in the Daily Mail on
Mr. Kitching has also been in direct contact with the Department about advertising for ladder safety devices that shows ladders being used in the garden to gain access to the top of hedges for the purpose of pruning them with two-handed power cutters, which he maintains is an unsafe practice. Like my hon. Friend, he argues that the Department should reissue the guidance and notes that it previously published on the safe use of ladders and stepladders.
I have personal experience of cutting the hedge with a power tool while on a ladder. Had it not been for the safety circuit breaker, I might not be here to respond to my hon. Friend. Clearly, I am concerned about how accidents can occur in the simplest of situations. The message in the 1996 basic safety guide remains the same, and the "Ladder User's Handbook" and its companion "Stepladder User's Guide" are both still available on the Department of Trade and Industry website. Again, I shall consider what my hon. Friend has asked me to do in respect of that.
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