Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Reform of UK

Occupational Health and

Safety Regulation

Mike Cross

3 June 2014

Reform is reality: use it wisely

“You can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow”

Anon

“To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often”

Winston Churchill

200 years of reform in the UK

Changing UK Industrial Revolution 1760 – 1840

Mechanised production widespread

Industry develops new processes

Flixborough disaster 1974

Revitalising health and safety 1997

Business law reform 2000 onwards

Deregulation initiatives 2009 onwards

Changing Health and Safety Health and Morals of Apprentices Act 1802

Factories Act 1833 – first factory inspectors

Regulations added to deal with new risks

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

HSE’s FiT3 Programme 2000 - 2010

Hampton Review 2005

Lord Young and Loftstedt reviews 2008 - 2009

Changing world of work

Changing health and safety

Changing perceptions

UK Government Business Reform Agenda

• Reducing Regulations for small business

• Reviewing the effectiveness of Regulations

• Using alternatives to Regulations

• Assessing new Regulations

• Operating a “one in, two out” rule for business Regulations

• Improving the enforcement of government Regulations

• Reducing the impact of EU Regulations on UK business

ALONG WITH

Large cuts to departmental budgets

to bring down the deficit

Rigorous scrutiny

Red Tape Challenge

Common Sense, Common Safety

LoftstedtReview

Triennial Review

Common Sense, Common Safety

Key recommendations:• Tackling the compensation culture

• Simplifying risk assessments for small businesses

• Ensuring health and safety consultants offer sound, professional advice

• Reducing bureaucracy for school trips

• Providing a means to challenge regulators’ decisions

• Amend incident reporting requirements

Loftstedt Review

Key recommendations:• Exempt those self-employed who

pose no risk of harm to others

• Review all Approved Codes of Practice

• Undertake consolidation of sector-specific Regulations

• Provide HSE with the ability to direct Local Authorities to ensure they focus on higher risk activities

• Remove strict liability for breaches of health and safety laws

Government reform progress - OSHCR

“Good health and safety, good for everyone”

• Create a register for occupational health and safety consultants

• Significantly reduce the number of inspections and target only high risk industries

• Introduce a cost recovery scheme

• Review all health and safety Regulations

• Provide simple help for small firms

Progress with reform - OSHCR

Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) in operation:– register of consultants who have

reached a certain standard– self-funding by a levy on members of

the register– organisations seeking assistance can

now easily find a OSHCR-registered consultant in their area or specialising in their sector

Inspections:• In HSE reduced by 33% (to

22,000 annually) and in LAs by a similar amount

• Sector strategies used to determine those industries which should be inspected

• Only high risk industries targeted, e.g. construction, heavy manufacturing, quarries but many lower risk sectors not inspected

• LAs now bound by national Code ensuring they apply same principles

Progress with reform - inspections

Progress with reform – cost recovery

Fees for Intervention scheme in operation:– Based on the principle that those who are complying with the law will

have nothing to pay– However, when a dutyholder is found in material breach of the law

they pay for the time it takes the inspector to ensure risks are under control

– Generating £10m annually (and rising)– Robust appeals system in place

Progress with reform – review of Regulations and ACoPs

Reviews on track to deliver:– 85% of health and safety

regulations either revoked, revised or consolidated with other regulations

– Of 30 ACoPs to be reviewed – 16 completed leading to 4 revised, 3 withdrawn and 9 consolidated in to 3

Progress with reform – help for small firms

Action to help small firms includes:– Legislation going through Parliament to

exempt from health and safety law 2 million self-employed who create no risk of harm to others

– Web-based guidance now available:

• Health and Safety Made Simple - http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/index.htm

• Health and Safety Toolbox - http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/index.htm

Progress – other initiatives

• Independent Regulatory Challenge Panel – hardly any cases

• Mythbusters Challenge Panel – nearly 300 reports of cases where health and safety has been misused investigated by independent panel

• Myth busters media campaign - taking a light-hearted view of health and safety myths

• Review of compliance with the Regulators Code including the Growth Duty

And there’s more…….

• Focus on Enforcement:– Chemicals– Small food production companies– Volunteering

• Business Focus on Enforcement– Industry-led panels to review regulation– Targeted at trade associations and business groups

• General Election in 2015 means ?????

Questions ???????????