CSCS Card UK Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (11–20)

Question 1

Under CDM 2015, the principal designer's MAIN duty during the pre-construction phase is to do which of the following?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase, including preparing and maintaining the health and safety file. Regulation 11 of CDM 2015 makes the principal designer responsible for planning, managing, monitoring and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase, and for preparing and updating the health and safety file — not the construction phase plan, which is the principal contractor's document.

Question 2

An employer is assessing risks from manual handling tasks under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. In what order should the hierarchy of control measures be applied?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Avoid the manual handling task altogether if reasonably practicable; if not, assess the task and reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable. Regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 requires employers to first avoid the need for manual handling where it is reasonably practicable to do so, and only where avoidance is not reasonably practicable to assess the remaining task and reduce the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable.

Question 3

Under RIDDOR 2013, which of the following is classified as a 'dangerous occurrence' that must be reported even if no one is injured?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

The unintentional collapse or partial collapse of a scaffold. Schedule 2 of RIDDOR 2013 lists the unintentional collapse or partial collapse of a scaffold more than five metres in height as a specified dangerous occurrence that must be reported to the enforcing authority, regardless of whether anyone is hurt.

Question 4

A risk assessment concludes that a particular hazard cannot be eliminated. According to the general hierarchy of control set out in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which control measure should be considered BEFORE simply providing personal protective equipment?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Implement engineering controls or safe systems of work to reduce exposure at source. Regulation 4 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to apply the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls (including safe systems of work and training), and only as a last resort provide PPE — meaning engineering controls must be considered before relying on PPE.

Question 5

Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, what is the FIRST step an employer must take before deciding how to work at height?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Avoid working at height altogether if it is reasonably practicable to do so. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require employers to follow a hierarchy: first avoid working at height if reasonably practicable, then prevent falls, then minimise the consequences of a fall.

Question 6

Which colour safety sign would you expect to see at the entrance to a confined space warning of an oxygen-deficient atmosphere?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Yellow with a black symbol — warning. Yellow triangular warning signs are used to alert workers to hazards such as a dangerous atmosphere; they do not instruct or prohibit but draw attention to the risk.

Question 7

When using a leaning ladder on a construction site, what is the correct angle at which the ladder should be set against the supporting surface?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

75 degrees (1 unit out for every 4 units up). The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and HSE guidance specify that a leaning ladder should be placed at approximately 75 degrees — a 1-in-4 ratio of base distance to height — to ensure stability.

Question 8

Before any excavation begins on a construction site, what must be done regarding buried services such as gas pipes and electricity cables?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Locate and identify all underground services using drawings and detection equipment. CDM 2015 and HSE guidance require that underground services are identified using service drawings, cable and pipe locators, and other means before any excavation work starts to prevent strikes.

Question 9

A mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) is to be used on a construction site. Under LOLER 1998, how often must it undergo a thorough examination by a competent person?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Every 6 months, or after any exceptional circumstances that may have affected its safety. LOLER 1998 requires lifting equipment used to lift persons — which includes MEWPs — to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every 6 months, or after any event that could have affected its safety.

Question 10

Which of the following correctly describes the hierarchy of control for working at height under the Work at Height Regulations 2005?

TheoryPractice · Accepted Answer

Avoid working at height; if unavoidable, prevent falls using collective measures; if fall occurs, minimise injury. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 establish a three-step hierarchy: avoid the work at height, then prevent falls using collective protection such as guardrails, and finally minimise the distance and consequences of any fall.

CSCS Card UK Exam Questions & Answers 2026 (11–20)

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