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CCA Evidence to the Select Committee Inquiry into the Work of the HSE
Full evidence, click here

Summary

2.1 The CCA’s evidence concerns: (a) resources; (b) prevention/ enforcement; (c) directors duties and jurisdiction; (d) HSE and public safety (e) HSE and Local Authorities.
2.2 Resources
The CCA’s evidence on resources can be summarised in the following manner
the Government’s current financial settlement will mean that the HSE has less money to spend on the ‘administration’ budget – which pays for inspector costs - in 20005/6 than 2003/4.
The average yearly increase in HSE‘s administration budget between 2000/01 and 2005/6 will have been around 2.5% - the rate of inflation - though two-thirds of that increase came in one year. Since that one year – where there was an increase of 9% - the level of increase has risen on average by less than 1.25%.
the number of inspectors is crucial to the core work of the HSE – inspection, investigation and enforcement activities - and the absence of adequate resources for their employment severely impacts upon HSE’s ability to carry out these activities which is to the detriment of health and safety;
apart from its direct impact upon inspection/ investigation/ prosecution issues, lack of resources has resulted in HSE:
(a) adopting a new highly restrictive policy concerning HSE’s future engagement on public safety issues;
(b) considering new enforcement strategies that seem to directly contradict the findings of international and HSE’s own research;
(c) failing to supervise appropriately local authority enforcement
(d) deciding against setting up legal independent oversight of HSE’s prosecution decisions;
the HSC has failed to campaign publicly about the problem of resources: the result, it appears, is a resource driven enforcement strategy.
2.3 Prevention and Enforcement
The CCA’s evidence can be summarised in the following manner
the CCA understands the issue here as the relative priority that the HSE should give to (a) inspections on the one hand and investigations on the other and (b) informal advice on the one hand and formal enforcement on the other;
investigations should not be seen as only about ‘accountability’. Investigations serve important preventative functions – with some advantages over inspections.
Whilst prosecutions serves to bring about criminal accountability, the evidence indicates that they serve an important preventative function as the fear of legal action and reputational damage has important deterrent impact.
the prosecution criteria in HSE’s Enforcement Policy Statement should be changed so that breaches of safety law that result in major injuries are treated in the same way as breaches that result in deaths.
HSE’s new evolving policy on enforcement – to move away from inspection, investigation and formal enforcement - as proposed by HSE’s Deputy Director in October 2003, contradicts overwhelming international and HSE evidence that it is inspection, investigation and formal enforcement that works best.
HSE’s continuing focus on the “business case for safety” has been shown to have little impact in motivating employers.
2.4

Legal Framework: Directors Duties and Jurisdictional Matters
The CCA’s evidence can be summarised in the following manner
there is a gap in the law so that company directors have no legal obligation to take any positive steps to ensure that their company is complying with safety law. This has serious implications for both prevention and accountability
the HSC/E acknowledges that the conduct of company directors can be crucial to the safe management of a company;
the findings of international and HSE research indicates that legal regulation is the principle mechanism to motivate senior company officers in relation to safety;
the government and the HSE have not kept their commitments relating to legislating in this area;
the HSC has decided to go down a voluntarist approach without any evidence of its effectiveness and in contradiction to its own and international research

2.5 HSE and Public Safety
The CCA’s evidence can be summarised in the following manner
As a cost-cutting measure, the HSE has recently established a new restrictive policy on public safety issues which will, for example, mean that many deaths and injuries suffered by members of the public will no longer be investigated;
2.6 HSE and Local Authorities
The CCA’s evidence can be summarised in the following manner

CCA analysis of Local Authority inspection and investigation rates indicates the need for the HSE to be carrying out its supervisory functions more assiduously and not just employing one person to audit


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To download the supplementary evidence, click here

 

Home -> Research & Briefings -> Government and Regulatory Bodies -> The Health and Safety Executive-> 1999 Select Committee Inquiry into the Work of the Health and Safety Executive
Page last updated on December 6, 2004