| 7.1 |
It would be impractical for HSE to move,
in one step, from its current system of
prosecutions to the proposed geographically
based prosecution teams model. It will take
time to grow and develop the expertise for
such units to work efficiently. The resource
implications will need to be addressed before
HSE could put such a system in place. |
| 7.2 |
More
lawyers would be required and, because health
and safety law is a specialist area, new
recruits would need time to acquire specialist
knowledge. Similarly HSE employs very few
administrative staff with paralegal skills.
There could be some external recruitment
but also HSE’s own staff should have
the opportunity to develop these skills.
Transferring inspectors to the units would
be difficult at present when experienced
inspectors are in considerable demand, particularly
for the delivery of training to new and
inexperienced colleagues. |
| 7.3 |
In
view of this, we propose that there should
be a trial in one area, which would be evaluated
after one year. Because HSE’s solicitors
are situated at Rose Court, such a trial
could be set up in FOD’s London/South
East division. The trial would also cover
any cases from HID and NSD arising in that
geographic area. This pilot would enable
a full appraisal of benefits to be gained
and resources required. It could also take
place while our other recommendations (e.g.
developing central sources of guidance and
a charging standard) are being taken forward
so that at the end of the pilot, a further
review could be carried out to determine
what outstanding action needed to be done. |
| 7.4 |
We
recognised that there are staffing issues
in London at present and an additional input
of resource would be necessary to build
a prosecution unit, not just in terms of
lawyers but also on the administrative and
inspectorate side as well. It appears that
the London and South East Region has a caseload
of some 120 prosecution cases a year. This
level of work coupled with the need to provide
inspectors with early access to legal advice
during the course of an investigation suggests
that 3 lawyers would be necessary to deal
with the work load, in addition to an inspector,
a caseworker and two administrative staff.
Further scoping work will be necessary on
staffing levels before the pilot is set
up, as there may be a number of cases not
being prosecuted because of lack of resource.
|
| 7.5 |
The
trial itself would then enable staffing
levels and grades to be assessed in the
light of experience, in particular whether
the inspector based in the team adds value
in terms of quality of prosecutions and
the service the team provides. The team
should be set up in such a way that lawyers
and inspectors are supported by a caseworker
and administrators with paralegal skills,
so that the skills of all staff are used
appropriately. |
| 7.6 |
The
pilot should also make it possible to assess
the level of savings on payments to solicitor
agents. |
| 7.7 |
If
our recommendation to pilot this model is
accepted, there will still be a need for
Solicitor’s Office to continue to serve
other FOD Divisions and accept high profile
cases, and cases from HID and NSD during
this period, and to provide general legal
advice to lawyers and inspectors on developments
in statute and case law and in prosecuting
procedures. |
| 7.8 |
HSE
will continue to need good solicitor agents
to enable a flexible response when in-house
resources are insufficient to deal with
casework. |
| 7.9 |
Some
divisions have excellent solicitor agents.
Others do not have such ready access to
good quality agents. A system needs to
be set up to monitor agents and a central
data base of agents needs to be maintained
and new solicitor agents recruited in
those areas where there is a shortage.
This is new work and will require additional
resources in Solicitor’s Office.
Recommendation: Subject
to the provision of the necessary resources,
a trial should be carried out in FOD’s
London and South East Division of such
a prosecution team, in order to work out
the practical consequences and necessary
resource level to put in place a national
scheme for England and Wales.
Recommendation:
A system of monitoring of solicitor agents
should be developed and implemented by
operational D/Ds in conjunction with Solicitor’s
Office.
Recommendation: Solicitor’s
Office should maintain a database of solicitor
agents and work with inspectors to recruit
more solicitor agents when required.
|
