In short yes you can. There is no legal requirement to use an accident book as such. The law requires you to record all the elements that the accident book would, and please remember the needs of the DPA when establishing your electronic system.

what is your contractor grumbling about noting that their accidents are their accidents and not yours so they should be able to do their own thing [this is a general comment not knowing the detail]

Never forgetting the right of the person whose detail has been recorded to have access to the data. Accident investigation detail should not be included. Unless you are considering refusing a subject access request ? Most employers use the electronic recording to keep the detail from the people concerned.

So............you restrict ( via computer "ownership"/access to database) who can make an entry into the company accident book. I thought whatever system used has to be available to all employees. I think I'd be grumbling too!

At my previous employment location access to the written record, for entries, was restricted to management. Because some entries were "not correct" (ie: employee being overcome by fumes while welding heavily painted metal with no rpe) The book was then filled only by lower management. They didn't even let me see my own entries until I used the subject access provisions of the dpa.... When it went onto computer the pc was password protected......fortunately only at the user level so access was easy from boot-level.... In the end they just locked the book away......then someone had a word with the hse...and not just about the "book" but about their no-rpe policy and "we ain't wasting money heating the place then leaving doors open" policy towards ventilation. Lots of money wasted on company sports cars and top-of-the-range 4WDs' though. Doncha just like small companies ?