Trade bodies reveal CITB levy votes as Build UK urges ‘fundamental’ change
Build UK, the largest of the trade bodies to vote on the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) levy collection, has backed the organisation’s proposals but called on it to improve.
The poll on whether the industry supports the collection of the levy for the next three years was postponed last year due to the pandemic. It is meant to be held every three years to show industry acceptance in order to secure permission from government for its collection. The organisation has proposed keeping levy rates unchanged at 0.35 per cent of company PAYE payroll and 1.25 per cent of payments to CIS qualifying subcontractors.
It has also proposed retaining levy exemption for employers with a wage bill below £120,000 and a 50 per cent reduction for employers with a wage bill between £120,000-£400,000.
Some 14 different trade bodies, known as ‘prescribed organisations’ in the process, cast votes after consultation with their members, as does a sample of 4,000 unrepresented companies.
Find out more about the proposed changes on Construction News: Here
Builder fined for unsafe practice
A builder has been fined after a worker lost a finger whilst cutting timber.
Two men were cutting timber joists for the flat roof of a domestic extension, Brighton Magistrates’ Court was told. A builder was carrying out the cutting using a circular saw, whilst the worker was holding the timber. During cutting, the saw slipped, amputating the worker’s index finger, severely damaging his middle finger and slicing open his thumb along its length. It was not possible to re-attach the amputated finger and the middle finger still has no movement or feeling. It is not known what, if any, movement will return following further operations. As a result of the injuries, which happened on 7 August 2019, the worker has lost 70% of the grip in that hand and is still suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Read more about this accident on SHPOnline: Here
HSE calls on farmers to make safety a priority after a series of serious incidents
Britain’s workplace regulator says more must be done to improve farm safety after being notified of four fatalities on farms in just over a fortnight.
Fatal incidents the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has become aware of include the death of a three-year-old boy in Wales and a suspected cattle-trampling in Marshfield earlier this week.
There has also been a report of a separate incident involving members of the public being attacked by cattle.
The incidents come just three weeks after Farm Safety Week, when HSE issued its Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2020/21 report highlighting the high fatality rate in the industry.
The figures showed that agriculture has the worst rate of fatal injuries of all the major industrial sectors, around 20 times higher than the average five-year annual rate across all industries.
Read the full press release on the HSE website: Here
Construction company fined £50k for repeated health and safety failings
A construction company has been fined following an HSE inspection which identified numerous health and safety failings.
An inspection of a construction site in Roseneath Road, London on 5 August 2019 identified numerous health and safety breaches, Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told. These included locations on site that had no edge protection to prevent falls, including a plank that traversed a basement extension to provide access into the property.
There were also insufficient measures in place to prevent the collapse of the sides of a large excavation.
Read more on the feature from SHPOnline: Here