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The number of people killed in work-related incidents dropped significantly in 2012/2013 – the first full review period following the Löfstedt report and implementation of the bulk of its recommendations.

The HSE published provisional data on 3 July that reveal 148 workers were fatally injured between April 2012 and March 2013. This is a decrease of 14 per cent on the previous year's toll of 172 lives lost.

The overall fatal-injury rate dropped to 0.5 per 100,000 workers – below the five-year average of 0.6. This means that, for the eighth year, Britain has the lowest rate of fatal injuries to workers among the five leading industrial nations in Europe (Germany, France, Spain, and Italy), based on the latest available data from 2010.

Construction and agriculture, as in previous years, recorded the most deaths – with 39 and 29 fatalities, respectively. However, deaths in construction were down 19 per cent on last year's total of 48, while agriculture saw a drop of 17 per cent on 2011/2012.

The waste and recycling industry, on the other hand, recorded 10 fatal injuries – double the previous year's total of five and way above the five-year average of six deaths.

The provisional workplace fatality statistics for 2012/2013 can be found here: www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm