Lack of adequate equipment, information, advice and regulations. Roger Mitchell discusses the plight of the youngsters who are likely to be delivering your daily newspapers.

Imagine the scenario: 6am on a cold, dark, winter morning. A 13 year-old girl is starting work; riding a bike with her heavy bag over her back. Although it was difficult to control the bike at first she is now used to it. She ignores her aching back, as her wages of five pounds a week will help pay for CDs and sweets. Has she been adequately trained? Is her bike safe? Has the bag weight been restricted? Has this whole work activity been risk assessed to protect her? The answer to most of these questions is no.

To protect vulnerable young people aged between 13 and 16 years old, the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations (1997) were passed. It required employers to make an assessment of the risk to the health of young persons, and provide information on the issues identified by the risk assessment both to the young persons and their parents or guardians. These regulations have now been absorbed into the new Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999).1

This article investigates the whole issue of newspaper delivery. Research was carried out in Derby to assess the current situation and examples of best practice within the UK and abroad were identified. Questionnaires were completed by 75 newsagents during routine inspections and two amended questionnaires were given to the paper girls and boys of the same newsagents; one for the news deliverer and one for the parents or guardian. Consequently, a direct triangulation of responses was achieved. Table 1 shows the number of questionnaires sent to, and returned from, newsagents, deliverers, parents and EHDs and the success rate. A different survey was sent to 425 environmental health departments in England and Wales, via the EHCnet enforcement link, to find out their response to this issue.

SURPRISING RESULTS?
Health & Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997: Only 41 per cent of newsagents claimed to be aware of these regulations and most were able to mention the main issues. Of the newsagents surveyed, 49 per cent had heard of risk assessment and the majority could correctly describe the concept. The survey results clearly indicated that "hardly any" information about safety measures for news deliverers had been given to parents. Regarding the amount of information given by the newsagents to deliverers, both the newsagent and the deliverer believed that "some" training had been given.

Personal protective equipment (PPE): The questionnaires confirmed that the newsagents generally provide the reflective bag, the trolley, and in some cases, personal alarms and tabards. Parents stated that they provided outdoor coats and a cycle helmet, where used. Personal safety and accident reporting: Fifty one per cent of newsagents reported details of accidents, attacks, bullying or deliverers being followed on the round, compared with 26 per cent of deliverers and, surprisingly, only 16 per cent of parents. Seventy four per cent of the newsagents did not know of the requirement to report serious accidents under RIDDOR 95. This supports the fact that, until this investigation, no accident had ever been reported to the Environmental Services Department of Derby City Council.

Manual handling: Table 2 gives the mean weights for each type of newspaper round. These results are high compared with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) submission, which shows the average weight of newspapers from a member survey in 1991.2 However, newspapers currently contain many more supplements than at that time. These results are within the limits set by the National Back Pain Association, where maximum weight limits are expressed as 20 per cent of body weight, namely 9.4 kg for an average 13 year old to 11.8 kg for an average 16 year old.3

Bike safety: The majority of the deliverers use a bicycle on their rounds. However, only a third use a cycle helmet and, worryingly, only 45 per cent had completed any cycle training. Just over half the deliverers take responsibility for bike safety. Bike safety is the responsibility of the deliverer and parent, not the newsagent, however, few realised the role of the newsagent in this area. Child employment bye-laws: Most newsagents had heard of the child employment bye-laws. The majority knew about the age restrictions and hours restrictions, but only 18 per cent knew about the employment card and only 12 per cent were aware of the restriction on the collection of money. Thirty four deliverers and parents, representing 23 newsagents, stated that they start their rounds before 7am. Thirteen newsagents claimed to have a total of 39 employment cards for their deliverers, but only seven of the deliverers stated that they had a card. However, only seven businesses, with 108 employment cards, had actually been issued with cards from the Education Service of Derby City Council.

Environmental health departments: Nearly all of the EHDs had heard of the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997, which is not surprising, as the HELA Advice sheet (HSE (1998b) was sent to all local authorities several weeks beforehand, and so skewed the results. Nearly three-quarters of EHDs had taken some form of action in response to these regulations. Most provided information/advice (54 per cent) and/or organised events (15 per cent). Only one authority has served improvement notices while two have prosecuted (in response to an accident). Initiatives to help newsagents meet their duties included the production of an advice booklet (16 EHDs) and making contact with the NFRN and making a presentation to the local group (11 EHDs). Individual EHDs had organised an awareness day and a workshop for newsagents, which culminated in local media coverage including the television, radio and press.

International best practice: Denmark has a very similar system to the UK and the health and safety issues are described in a leaflet from the Danish publishers organisation.4 The carrying of bags on the back is described as "a bad idea" and the use of either a hand cart or the pulling of a bicycle is recommended. With a bicycle, no bags are carried on the backs, but panniers or trailers are used, with a limit of 25 kg. The carrying of stacks of newspapers is limited to 12 kg, which is slightly above the NBPA recommended limits for young people.

America, Australia, and Holland have the following trends:

• enhanced co-operation between publishers and with newsagents with the delivery system;
• possible closure of afternoon rounds;
• home delivery before 6.30am completed by adults; and
• young people deliver the free newspapers, but do not have a contract of employment, hence the health and safety legislation will not apply.

CRUCIAL ISSUES
The results from the newsagent questionnaire indicate that "some" newsagents are aware of the regulations and "some" information has been given to parents on delivery safety. This practice appears to comply with the Guidance to the Regulations and supports the general reluctance to allow parents to get involved.5,6 The spirit of these regulations requires the newsagent to make a proactive decision to communicate with parents to reassure them, however HSE guidance merely supports the best practice of tolerating parents interference and undermines this communication issue.

Some training has been given to deliverers, however it is usually from an adult perspective, for example, a list of "do's" and "don'ts" - rather than explaining the reasons for the restrictions on their employment. All newsagents provide a reflective bag, with very few additionally providing trolleys, arm-bands and tabards. It is questionable whether the provision of a standard reflective bag complies with the Guidance to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1997 and clarification is needed.7

In the study, most newsagents did not know of their duty to report accidents under RIDDOR'95. Many accidents/incidents were identified in the questionnaires, of which the parents are aware, but which go unreported to the newsagents. The results obtained are high compared with the CAPT survey results, but broadly comply with the Trade Union Congress publication.8,9 This confirms the under reporting of accidents affecting young people, that the HSE acknowledge.10 The criteria for accident reporting in RIDDOR'95 is geared up to identify serious adult accidents. In this study over 94 per cent of EHDs have never received F2508 notifications involving deliverers. Of the accidents/incidents reported by the deliverers and their parents, none were required to be reported under the current criteria in RIDDOR'95. However, accidents which are treated as relatively minor in adults will often have greater emotional, psychological and physiological significance in adolescence. Consequently, the criteria for the reporting of accidents to young people needs reviewing.

The mean weights of the rounds fall within the acceptable limits.3 An evaluation by ergonomists of different types of delivery bags is required, similar to those carried out for the post office.11 The responsibility for checking bike safety is unclear, consequently it bypasses the newsagents and transfers itself to the deliverer and the parents. Strictly speaking, if a bike is used during the delivery of newspapers, the newsagents should bear some responsibility to ensure the bike is road safe and that the deliverer is suitably trained in road safety. Both these responsibilities are ignored by most newsagents, who are thus vulnerable to legal action in the event of an accident. Another area of uncertainty is the competence of the newsagent to check the bikes without prior training. One enterprising newsagent identified during the research had bike maintenance contracts with the local bike shop. This whole situation is a grey area that needs to be clarified nationally, and the results communicated to newsagents. Most deliverers indicated in their questionnaire that they are employed illegally and are breaking one or more of the child employment restrictions regarding hours of work, employment cards, and money collection. In the short-to-medium term the better practice abroad should be investigated with a view to its application in the UK. Perhaps a greater co-operation between publishers and newsagents could fund such changes.

NEED FOR CHANGE
This study has identified an "industry norm" regarding health and safety issues in newsagents in Derby. This comprises newsagent ignorance of health and safety, limited training to the deliverers from an adult perspective and poor quality personal protective equipment. Most newsagents employ young people illegally and are flouting one or more of the local bye-laws. The industry is extremely fragmented, and the fierce competition and pressure to minimise costs make it very difficult for the newsagent to break away from this cycle of bad practice. The situation is exacerbated by the complacency towards newsagents and deliverers by EHDs and education departments of local authorities. This study proves that deliverers are vulnerable to accidents/incidents, but the protective mechanism of health and safety and child employment bye-laws let these young people down.

Some EHDs are addressing this situation by providing advice and supportive booklets to newsagents, but this has lead to duplication and inconsistency. Examples of best practice should be co-ordinated and experience shared. The "industry norm" has various inherent uncertainties, for example, who should check the bikes for safety, PPE provision, quality of risk assessment, quality of deliverer training and provision of information to parents. All these uncertainties need to be discussed as part of a wider initiative of consultation, which includes government departments and appropriate experts to create UK best practice.

The current standards of health and safety need to be updated to meet the full requirements of health and safety legislation. The criteria for accident reporting under RIDDOR'95 needs reviewing owing to the greater emotional, psychological and physiological effects of accidents/incidents on adolescents. The standards of health and safety in adult occupations have dramatically improved in recent years, so why are young people's occupations so far behind? The Health and Safety (Young Persons) Directive and Regulations were thought to address this issue, but the current "protective" system has diluted its effects to render it largely worthless. Referral to better practice abroad is needed to widen the current perspectives of all the individuals and organisations concerned in the UK.

It is recommended that:

• the best practice developed by some EHDs should be co-ordinated and the experience shared;
• current standards are updated;
• better PPE is developed which complies with ergonomic principles;
• a training video/booklet should be provided for both newsagents and deliverers;
• consultation between central government departments is developed; and
• experts should create UK best practice and eliminate the grey areas, for example, the HELA advice document.

If the recommendations above are ignored, the young girl mentioned at the start could develop permanent back problems, be involved in a serious car accident or be victim to a vicious attack. Who would want that on their conscience?

The author wishes to thank John Tomlinson and the Food Team at Derby City Council and Kevin Maguire at The Nottingham Trent University for their support in carrying out this research.

Roger Mitchell works for Safegard, the Environmental Health and Safety Consultancy Service of Sodexho. Tel: 0161 833 6800.

During this research in 1998, all the newsagents in Derby were visited by the EHD of Derby City Council to discuss health and safety issues with the local Trade Association. A booklet explaining risk assessment aimed specifically at newsagents was produced. An initial improvement in standards was noted, but the long-term effects are still being evaluated, contact John Tomlinson on Tel: 01332 715214 for more information.

References
1. Health and Safety Commission (2000) Management of health and safety at work, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, L21, Norwich, HMSO, ISBN 0 7176 24889.
2. House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1993) Protection of Young People At Work, Session 1992-1993, 23rd Report, Select Committee on the European Communities, London, HMSO.
3. National Back Pain Association (1997) School Bag Survey 1997 - Findings and Recommendations, London, NBPA
4. Danske Dagblades Forenings Forhandlingsorganisation (1996) The newspaper must be delivered. Information about job environment for the young newspaper boys/girls and their parents, Copenhagen, 22 June.
5. HSE (1997) Young people at Work. A Guide for Employers, HS(G)165, Norwich, HSE Books, ISBN: 0 7176 72856.
6. HSE (1998b) HELA Guidance on the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997 to all Chief Environmental Health Officers in Local Authorities, No. 92/3, Health and Safety Executive.
7. HSE (1996b) Personal Protective Equipment At Work, Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, Guidance on Regulations, L25, HSE Books.
8. Heptinstall, Jewitt and Sherriff (1997) Young Workers and their accidents, London, Child Accident Prevention Trust, ISBN: 1872071 449.
9. Trades Union Congress (1997) Working Classes: a TUC Report on School Age Labour in England and Wales, London, TUC.
10. McKechnie, Hobbs, Lindsay and Lynch (1998) Working Children: The Health and Safety Issue, Children and Society, 12(1), pp38-47, February.
11. Parsons et al (1994) "Evaluation of new mail delivery bag designs", pp 236-240 In: Contemporary Ergonomics 1994, Proceedings of the Ergonomics Society's 1994 Annual Conference, University of Warwick, 19-22 April 1994, SA Robertson (ed.), London, Taylor & Francis,

TABLE 2