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| Select
Committee Report - Prosecution Levels |
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| 171. |
Evidence to the Committee suggests there
is concern at the low level of prosecutions,
particularly among trade unions. The Environment,
Transport and Regional Affairs Committee
report in 2000 concluded there was an urgent
need to increase the level of prosecutions
undertaken by HSE. HSE figures show that
the number of ‘informations laid’
has since fallen (from 2,115 in to 1999/00
to 1,688 in 2002/03) and the number of convictions
from 1,616 to 1,260. Over the same period,
the number of enforcement notices issued
by HSE has risen to 13,263, up from 11,304
in 1999/00. |
| 172. |
HSC/E point out that formal enforcement
action, such as prosecution, is time-consuming,
requiring the ‘pursuit of all reasonable
lines of inquiry’. The Centre for Corporate
Accountability (CCA) refers to a study showing
that ‘resources are a key constraint
on decisions to prosecute’. However,
CCA also points out that HSE seeks costs
after conviction and is allowed to keep
this money. In 2003/04, HSE received £4.017
million in costs (an average, of £4,910
per case prosecuted in England and Wales
in that year). CCA comments that this should
‘arguably cover a significant amount
of the costs of taking prosecutions’.
It also comments that most prosecutions
arise from investigations into incidents
and, therefore, that the current strategy
to reduce the number of incidents investigated
is likely to result in the number of prosecutions
falling still further. |
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