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Introduction
The Report
The first report - ‘Safety Last? The Under Enforcement
of Health and Safety Law’, published in October
2002 - looked at levels of inspection, investigation
and prosecution by Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
inspectors. This showed, for example, that in the five
year period between 1996/7 to 2000/01 there was a 41%
decrease in the level of inspections. It also showed
that, over the same period, the percentage of major
injuries investigated had doubled from 10 to 20%.
Although the HSE is the main health and safety enforcing
body in Britain – with responsibility for those
premises involved in manufacturing, agriculture, construction,
energy and extractive industries – each Local Authority
has responsibility for enforcing the law in what is
known as ‘Service Sector’ premises. These
include offices, retail and wholesale shops, warehouses,
fuel storage depots, residential care homes, and premises
involved in providing catering, leisure, cultural or
consumer and other services.
In fact local authorities are responsible for enforcing
the law in more premises than the HSE – though
many of these premises tend to be less hazardous and
result in fewer deaths and injuries.
This report does something that has never been done
before: it undertakes a comparative analysis of individual
local authorities on a number of different enforcement
criteria. For example, it identifies the local authorities
which:
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undertake
the most and the least inspections and investigations; |
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impose
the most and least number of enforcement notices; |
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have
the most and least number of inspectors. |
It
is able to undertake such an analysis as, at the end
of each year, Local Authorities are required by the
HSE to fill out a "Health and Safety Return"
which contains information on the level of inspectors,
inspections, investigations, and enforcement action
in their area.
In 1999/2000, only 375 out of 410 local Authorities
sent in their annual returns, and a sizeable number
of local authorities sent in forms that were incomplete.
Most of the tables in this report are based on an
analysis of between 320 to 340 local authorities.
As a result, there may well be local authorities whose
record is either worse, or better, than the ones identified
here.
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HSE’s "National
Picture"
This report differs from the Health and Safety Commission’s
analysis of local authority enforcement - known as
the ‘National Picture’ - which is also based
upon the ‘annual returns’ that Local Authorities
send to the HSE.
Although the National Picture is a very useful analysis
of the national trends on Local Authority enforcement,
it does not provide information on individual local
authorities that allows comparison. It also deals
with the problem of incomplete information from local
authorities by extrapolating from the data provided
to it; as a result some of aggregate data in the National
Picture is not an accurate or true record of the enforcement
record of local authorities.
It should be noted that the HSC have recently published
the National Picture and statistical report for 2001/2.
This report only looks at one year and, as such, it
is just a ‘snapshot’ of what is happening
in each Local Authority. It does not take into account,
for example, of the fact that a particular local authority
may, in the particular year we were analysing, have
targeted a sector that is not highlighted in this
report. We would have liked to have analysed more
than one year, but the HSE did not (at the time we
sought the data) have the resources to provide us
with further data.
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What
HSC has said about Local Authorities
The HSC have recently published the National Picture
and further detailed statistics on Local Authority
Enforcement in 2001/2. In doing so the HSC states
that it is "concerned over the growing trend
among local authorities to reduce the priority given
to health and safety enforcement resulting in a 10%
drop in inspection rates.
The figures revealed that:
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There
was a fall in the number of local authority inspectors
for the fifth year running, and a drop of almost
12% since 1998/9 |
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There
was an 11% fall in inspections over the last year
and a 20% decrease since 1998/9, continuing the
downward trend of the 1990's. |
Allan
Davies, the Head of HSE’s Local Authority Unit
said: "This
is a worrying trend and continues for a successive
year. Local government must recognise its responsibility
for health and safety enforcement and make adequate
arrangements to deliver this duty." He added
that although some local authorities are trying to
deliver good service "there are many who seem
unconcerned about reducing accidents and ill health
in the workplace."
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Relationship
between HSC and Local Authorities
Section 18 (4) of the Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 requires that local authorities "make adequate
arrangements" for the enforcement within their
area of the relevant statutory provisions and that
they perform their duties in accordance with guidance
from the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) (See
box) The guidance states that "LAs need to
ensure that they devote sufficient resources to the
health and safety enforcement function to comply with
their duties under section 18(4) of the HSW Act".
The guidance gives powers to the Secretary of State
under section 45 of the HSW Act 1974 to direct a Local
Authority to perform their enforcement functions in
a particular manner. In the long run the Secretary
of State may enforce the order or make an order transferring
the enforcement functions of the defaulting authority
to the HSE
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Key Findings
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There
was huge variation between different local authorities
in levels of inspection, investigations, in enforcement
notices and numbers of health and safety inspectors. |
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Whilst
Rossendale District Council reported no visits
of any kind to its 1540 registered premises, Kennet
district Council, with its 1226 premises, undertook
1515 visits. |
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Whilst
Lambeth undertook no inspections of it 7680 premises,
Mansfield District Council, with 1640 premises,
undertook 1109 inspections. |
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Whilst,
90 local authorities investigated every single
reported injury to a worker 17 local authorities
investigated less than 10% of reported injuries.
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Whilst
Milton Keynes investigated all of its 351 injuries
(62 of which were major) Wigan MBC only investigated
3% of its 315 injuries (39 of which were major) |
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Whilst
Solihull MBC imposed 65 notices from its 422 visits
– one enforcement notice for every 8 visits
– Ashford only imposed one notice in relation
to its 1116 visits. |
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Whilst
East Dunbartonshire had 4 inspectors for its 1105
premises, the London Borough of Islington reported
it had one part-time inspector for its 3418 premises. |
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Section 18(4) of the HSAW Act 1974
"It shall be the duty of every local authority
–
(a) to make adequate arrangements for the enforcement
within their area of the relevant statutory provisions
….
(b) to perform the duty imposed on them by the preceding
paragraph and any other functions conferred on them
by any of the relevant statutory provisions in accordance
with such guidance as the Commission may give"
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