|
|
|
| Select
Committee Report - Fines and other Sentences |
|
| 178. |
Maximum penalty levels are set out in the
section 33 of the HSWA In England and Wales,
most prosecutions take place in the magistrates
court where there is a maximum penalty of
£20,000 for a breach of sections 2-6
of the Health and Safety at Work Act and
£5,000 for other breaches of the Act
or relevant statutory provisions. In the
higher courts, an unlimited fine can be
imposed for such offences and imprisonment
is available for offences such as failure
to comply with an improvement notice. |
| 179. |
A range of organisations giving evidence
to the Committee, particularly trade unions,
considered penalty levels to be too low
. The average fine per case fell from £11,141
in 2001/02 to £8,828 in 2002/03. In
fact, there has been no substantial change
in the general level of fines since the
Court of Appeal said they were too low in
November 1998. HSC/E point out that ‘large
company health and safety fines [are] up
to ten times lower than the general level
of financial services fines for larger companies.’
In oral evidence, they highlighted higher
fines as one of the changes they thought
would most help them perform their functions
more effectively. |
| 180. |
In oral evidence, Dr Janet Asherson said
that the CBI had ‘no problem with the
health and safety fines being aligned with
the sort of penalties we find in other areas’,
although she also commented that further
training might be more of a motivator for
improving performance and preventing recurrence.
EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation,
commented that the case for higher fines
would be won only if a correlation with
improved workplace health and safety could
be made. EEF supports hypothecating fines
so that the money would be reinvested in
HSC/E to facilitate their driving greater
improvement. |
| 181. |
Another development HSC identified as being
helpful was innovative penalties. Mr Bill
Callaghan said that, for example, disqualification
of directors, forms of community service
orders or training could have as big an
impact on companies as a fine. Revitalising
committed HSC to advising Ministers on the
feasibility of consultees’ proposals
in this respect. RoSPA commented that this
had not been taken forward and has put forward
proposals, (as has the Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health ) for a new regime of
remedial sentencing under which the courts
could appoint experts to oversee remedial
action, with successful completion linked
to the lifting of a suspended sentence.
|
| 182. |
The Committee recommends that maximum penalties
should be increased by means of a Bill in
the next session of Parliament and further
recommends that proposals to introduce alternative
and innovative penalties in addition to
those already available to the courts should
be examined and the reasoned conclusions
thereof published by 1 May 2005. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
