The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) has strongly welcomed the publication of a report to the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, entitled 'One death is too many'.

It is the result of a six month inquiry, which SBF's Chief Executive Michael Levack contributed to, into the underlying causes of construction fatal accidents.

Mr Levack has said that there are many important and positive conclusions which the Scottish Government should draw from the report’s 28 recommendations. In particular, he endorsed the report's recommendation to establish a full-time minister for construction; a position Mr Levack has campaigned for in Scotland for the last eighteen months.

The Scottish Building Federation launched Blueprint 2008: Building Scotland’s Future in January 2008, which called for a dedicated construction minister in the Scottish Government.

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Mr Levack argued that this would help not only to drive continued improvement in health and safety standards within the industry but also to safeguard construction jobs and capacity during these difficult economic times.

Responding to the report, Mr Levack said: "I fully endorse the report's headline conclusion that, although the number of fatalities in the construction industry has reduced over recent years, we need to take a zero tolerance approach to tackling building sector injuries and deaths.

"The Scottish Building Federation will consider the full report in detail and is committed to assisting our members in making a significant contribution to eliminating serious injuries and fatalities from our industry."

Mr Levack said the Scottish Building Federation has long argued that the Scottish Government should include a full-time minister responsible for construction.

"Employing more than 200,000 Scottish workers and contributing billions in private of investment to the Scottish economy, construction is an industry that is strategically important enough to Scotland to warrant its own minister."

He continued: "The role of Chief Construction Officer south of the border is being developed, with an appointment likely following a general election, is a positive move.

"Similarly, a Scottish construction minister would also be responsible for ensuring that the sector gets the support it deserves, be that in the form of continued support for the thousands of apprentices the industry takes on each year or additional investment in public infrastructure to sustain industry capacity and jobs."

(GK/BMcc)