Third of inspections to be stripped out under health and safety reform

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Communities and also in Health

The Government is to review all health and safety laws with a view to scrapping any that put an "unnecessary" burden on business, it was announced today.

Ministers said regulation will focus on high hazard sites and tackling rogue employers and consultants, not "tying up" the vast majority of Britain's businesses in red tape.

Business leaders welcomed the move, but the TUC warned the proposals were bad for workers' health and safety as well as the economy.

Under the planned changes, responsible employers will no longer face automatic health and safety inspections, with high risk locations such as major energy sites, or rogue employers being targeted instead.

This measure will cut the number of inspections carried out in the UK by at least a third.

Ministers said they also wanted to eliminate "cowboy" health and safety consultants who were unqualified but were deemed to be responsible for many of Britain's most "inappropriate" health and safety recommendations.

A new register of qualified consultants will be made available to businesses, and those who are untrained or give false advice will be excluded from the approved list.

The review of existing regulations will be chaired by Professor Ragnar E Lofstedt, of King's College London and will publish its findings in the autumn.

Employment minister Chris Grayling will tell a conference in London today: "Of course it is right to protect employees in the workplace, but Britain's health and safety culture is also stifling business and holding back economic growth.

"The purpose of health and safety regulation is to protect people at work and rightly so, but we need common sense at the heart of the system, and these measures will help root out the needless burden of bureaucracy.

"This will help us make Britain a more growth-focused, entrepreneurial nation. By reducing unnecessary red tape we can encourage businesses to come and invest in the UK, creating jobs and opportunities when we need them most."

British Chambers of Commerce director general David Frost said: "A thorough review of health and safety rules can only be good news, provided it is followed by real action to reduce burdens on businesses.

"Simplifying and codifying health and safety laws will help employers spend less time on tick box exercises, and more time focusing on growing their businesses. It is sensible for health and safety inspections to target high-risk sectors, rather than all businesses, and we particularly welcome the Government's intention to review the gold-plating of EU health and safety regulations which has occurred in this country over recent years."

Health and Safety Executive chairman Judith Hackitt said: "With even better targeting of our activities we will further help small businesses to understand what they need to do. This will enable us to give the highest level of attention to those areas with the potential to cause most harm and where we can have the greatest impact."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Employers need to know that there is the possibility of a safety inspector visiting, otherwise there will be no incentive for them to ensure they are protecting their workers.

"Removing proactive inspections from a large number of workplaces mean that employers can get away with ignoring the law until they kill or seriously injure someone. This is in no-one's interests and will mean an increase in deaths and injuries, leading to a rush to the bottom as cowboy companies undercut responsible employers by cutting back on safety.

"The proposals are not only bad for workers' health and safety, they will also be bad for the economy as the health service and benefits system have to deal with the aftermath of more injuries and illnesses caused through unsafe work.

"The strategy is not about better regulation, it is about deregulation and is all part of a bigger plan to reduce the rights that workers have to safety and fair treatment."

Steve Pointer, of the Engineering Employers Federation, said: "This is a welcome step by Government to review of whole areas of legislation, rather than piecemeal changes to individual regulations.

"Whilst much health and safety legislation is fit for purpose, some areas remain a problem and this review has the potential to resolve anomalies, reduce burdens and so help boost growth.

"This is particularly true of more recent EU directives and proposals where, after initially establishing a good approach, the European Commission continues to propose more and more legislation that complicates the picture, imposes burdens on businesses, but does nothing to protect employees.

"This is severely undermining the positive approach of the Government and the Health and Safety Executive."

Bob Crow, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: "When ConDem ministers talk about easing regulation, what they mean is removing it, and when it comes to health and safety that is a charter for death and injury.

"There are already far too few workplace inspections and it is already next to impossible to get bosses whose negligence causes injury, death or disease at work to face legal consequences."

Rob Bhol, managing director of law firm DBS, said: "In the last 12 months we have already seen an increase in our personal injury business coming from workplace accidents. We believe this is a result of a more relaxed attitude to health and safety by employers.

"If the Government adopts an after-the-horse-has-bolted approach to accident prevention it will inevitably lead to a flood of people being badly hurt and even killed at work."

Neil Carberry, the CBI's director for employment affairs, said: "These proposals should inject some common sense into health and safety regulation.

"The UK has a good record on health and safety, and incidents are falling year-on-year, although more can always be done to reduce workplace injuries and deaths.

"What we must avoid is devaluing health and safety regulation by taking an over-cautious approach and using it as an excuse not to do things.

"We are concerned by proposals to increase employer charging. The CBI will work constructively with the HSE to ensure any increases in charges fall only where material dangers that a firm should have dealt with are found. Businesses should not be faced with fees for minor technical breaches."

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Cutting bureaucracy is the continuing mantra of this coalition, but it could be dangerous rhetoric if it translates into fewer inspections and a subsequent rise in deaths and injuries in factories, on construction sites, on farms and in workplaces across the UK."