Workplaces in Birmingham are becoming safer with the total number of reported injuries and accidents in 2012/13 dropping to 1,771 from 2,100 during the previous 12 months.

Figures released today by the Health and Safety Executive for the year show there were two work-related deaths in the city.

Slips and falls were the most common reported incidents in the city’s workplaces with 569 accidents logged, followed by lifting and handling injuries at 400. Exposure to harmful substances accounted for just 26 of the total mishaps. Physical assaults on workers declined by 19.4 per cent from 175 in 2012/13 to 141.

Nationally, the number of major injuries caused by work-related accidents fell below 20,000, the lowest since records began in 1996.

There was an 11 per cent drop in injuries such as fractures, burns and amputations as a result of incidents in the workplace in England, Wales and Scotland, said the executive. There were 148 fatal injuries, down from 171 the previous year, while the cost of injuries and ill-health was around £13.8 billion in the year to 2011, compared with £16.3 billion four years earlier.

Judith Hackitt, who chairs the HSE, said firms across the country were working hard to eliminate workforce injuries.

She said: “This year’s figures demonstrate that Britain continues to be improve its health and safety performance, with important falls in the number of workers fatally injured and the number of employees suffering major injuries.

“But we still see too many deaths and injuries occur in the work place, many of which could have been prevented through simple safety measures.”

There has been little change in the industries in which workers are most likely to be injured by their jobs, with construction and maintenance, agriculture and waste and recycling among the higher risk sectors.

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