Policy and consultation

IOSH policy and position themes support our aim of securing better protection for people from serious work-related harm. Our policies and positions are generally developed from available evidence and member responses to consultations.

Finding out what members think

Consultations and ‘calls for evidence’ are issued by government agencies and other bodies to find out what stakeholders think about proposals for new policy or legislation or for changes to current legislation/Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs).

Our members have a stake in IOSH policy, and as individuals, they are likely to be directly affected by changes to regulations and ACoPs in their professional lives. Consultation means:

• our members have a voice in the changes that most affect them
• legislators benefit from our members' knowledge and experience
• policy or legislative changes are more effective and accepted.

We’ve had great success from our responses to ‘calls for evidence’:

• Our responses over the last 4-5 years have led to us being invited to give oral evidence at four parliamentary inquiries. Parliamentary inquiries are set up to examine a range of issues in detail, from government policy and proposed new laws, to wider topics like the economy.
• The evidence we gave to one of the inquiries has led to the Government supporting our call for the accreditation of health and safety consultants.
• Our response to the Dame Carol Black review has led to a pilot course for health and safety practitioners that’s supported by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Find out more about this course.

Would you like to get involved by telling us your thoughts on a document? Find out more about Consultation documents and have a look at the latest live documents that we need your views on.