FOI reference: FOI/2022/4398

You asked

Could you please provide any statistics available relating to crane accidents in the UK Construction Industry from 2012 to 2022.

We said

​Thank you for your enquiry.

Unfortunately, we do not hold statistics relating to accidents within the Construction industry, the Health and Safety Executive would be better placed to answer your enquiry.

They publish Construction statistics in Great Britain, 2021 (hse.gov.uk) on annual basis.

To make an FOI request with the HSE, please contact your regional HSE Office.

We are responsible for the production of mortality data in England and Wales, this is driven by information collected from the death certificates at death registration. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.

We do hold data relating to death registrations by occupation, however this would not confirm that the death occurred at a construction site. This would merely show the deceased was a construction worker or involved in the construction trade.

Data on occupation is coded using the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2010). In all, there are 9 major groups of occupations (for example, skilled trades occupations); 25 sub-major groups (for example, skilled construction and building trades); 90 minor groups (for example, building finishing trades); and more than 350 individual occupations (for example, painters and decorators).

We can produce custom data sets looking at ICD-10 codes with specific location codes. Mortality statistics are compiled using the information provided on the death certificate. Cause of death is coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). There are numerous ICD-10 codes for accidents ranging from V01 to X59.

You can request data from 2013-2021 from our NOMIS webservice for deaths involving accidents but unfortunately, NOMIS does not hold data on deaths by place of occurrence which would include the workplace.

We may be able to create a custom output using a 4-digit ICD-10 code which would provide deaths where the underlying cause was an external cause or accidental injury by place of accident. We cannot identify all workplaces; we can only provide by the provided areas below:

  1. Residential institution

  2. School, other institution or public administrative area

  3. Sports and athletics area

  4. Street or highway

  5. Trade and service area

  6. Industrial and construction area

  7. Farm

  8. Other specified places

  9. Unspecified place

  10. Mine or quarry

  11. Public Building

Custom data sets and special tabulations of mortality data are subject to disclosure control, legal frameworks, resources, and agreement to costs under the ONS charging policy.

If you would like to obtain a quote for this work, please contact the HALE customer services team on Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.