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HSC's Voluntary
Guidance, and HSC meeting January 2001
As a result of the first paragraph of the Action Point,
11 of Revitalising Health and Safety, the HSC published
a consultation document on a voluntary code for directors.
To download the HSE consultation Document, click
here (PDF document) Click
here (Word)
The HSE then
undertook an anlaysis of the various responses. To
see this, click
here
This
was discussed at the HSC meeting in May 2001. A decision
was taken to publish a revised document. The decision
stated that:
There
was overwhelming support for the need for guidance
in this area but some concern was expressed over
the voluntary nature of the proposed Code. The
use of the term 'voluntary code' was misleading
and should be abandoned in favour of 'guidance'.
The consultation had been on the basis of previous
decisions by the Commission and had focused on the
substance of the guidance concerning directors'
health and safety responsibilities. The need
for further legislation in this area was being considered
in the context of the Safety Bill. The guidance
should be viewed as the first stage in ensuring
directors took up their responsibilities; this would
be evaluated and provide evidence on the need for
further methods;(emphasis added)
To
read the whole of final decisions of the HSC
click here
The
final guidance was then published. To see this Click
here (PDF)
Evaluation
of Impact of Guidance
The
HSE commissioned the consultants Greenstreet Berman
to undertake an evaluation of the impact of the voluntary
Guidance. The consultants - who only looked at large
companies and organisations - published their results
in August 2003. The HSE summarised the results in
the following manner:
| "• |
66% in 2003 reported health and safety directed
at board level compared to 58% in 2001 |
| • |
70%
of top 350 companies and 55% of public bodies
surveyed in 2003 reported that health and safety
directed at board level - largely unchanged on
2001; |
| • |
82%
of respondents in 2003 reported that they have
a board level person responsible for health and
safety – a small increase on 75% reported
in 2001 – the breakdown by type of organisation
in 2003 was as follows: top 350 companies –
90%; large firms – 88%; public sector organisations
– 78%; voluntary sector – 55%; |
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in
2003 survey, 80% had heard of HSC guidance compared
to 75% in 2001; |
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in 2001 and 2003, 60% of those organisations surveyed
who reported board level involvement reported
identified that health and safety was discussed
by the board at least quarterly; |
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in
2001 and 2003 65% of those board receiving health
and safety performance reports were notified of
enforcement notices; |
| • |
of
particular concern, around 15% of organisations
surveyed have no arrangements in place to facilitate
board level involvement and no plans to do so." |
To
download the full report, Click
Here (PDF)
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