IOSH concerned with cut in regulations

28 November 2011

IOSH today (Monday 28 November) raised concerns about the speed and scale of the Government’s proposed rationalisation of health and safety regulations – and the plan to exempt some self-employed workers from their statutory duties.

Professor Ragnar Lofstedt’s eagerly-awaited, Government-commissioned report on Britain’s health and safety regulations was published today, and it calls for one million self-employed to be exempt from health and safety law.

In response, Employment Minister Chris Grayling has announced plans to begin a major cut back of health and safety red tape as early as January. It will begin an immediate consultation on the abolition of large numbers of health and safety regulations and intends to have removed the first rules from the statute book within a few months.

IOSH Chief Executive Rob Strange OBE and Immediate Past President Steve Granger attended the launch of the report and Government response in Whitehall today.

Speaking afterwards, Rob said: “We support the streamlining and simplification of health and safety regulations, but we are keen to find out how the Government intends to reduce the number by half without increasing the risk to workers and the general public of injury and ill health.

“We are also concerned about the proposed exemption of self-employed people from health and safety obligations, as many will have work which involves the use of equipment or chemicals, or requires visits to other workplaces. This approach seems to contradict the development of a more risk aware society, which the report is also keen to promote.

“But we do welcome moves to help employers to understand their health and safety obligations with the use and simplification of approved codes of practice.

“The report identifies the inconsistencies of enforcement in local government and we applaud the suggestion to further centralise the strategy for enforcement and improve training to address this.

“Overall, we welcome the report and the partnership approach taken, and we are particularly pleased that IOSH’s submission to Prof Lofstedt has been listened to. We look forward to continuing to play a key part in the successful implementation of these changes.”

The Government said it would establish from 1 January a new challenge panel, which will allow businesses to get the decisions of health and safety inspectors overturned immediately if they have got it wrong.

Mr Grayling commissioned the report in March.  Health and safety law should not apply to self-employed people whose work activity poses no potential risk of harm to others, it recommends. The changes if implemented would benefit around a million self-employed people, the Government said.

Prof Löfstedt set out his recommendations in the report "Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation". Today, the Government accepted his recommendations.

Health and safety regulations will be reduced by a third rising to over a half over the next three years, through combining, simplifying and reducing the approximately 200 existing regulations, said the Government.

The role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in relation to local authorities will be significantly strengthened. And the report makes recommendations to ensure that employers are not held responsible for damages when they have done all they can to manage risks.

Ministers say that with 50% of health and safety regulation coming from Europe the Professor will present his findings, along with the Minister, in Brussels this week to promote a more proportionate, risk-based approach.

Mr Grayling said: "From the beginning we said getting the regulation of health and safety right is important to everyone. By accepting the recommendations of Professor Löfstedt we are putting common sense back at the heart of health and safety. 

“Our reforms will root out needless bureaucracy and be a significant boost to the million self employed people who will be moved out of health and safety regulation altogether.

"We will also ensure our reforms put an emphasis on personal responsibility. It cannot be right that employers are responsible for damages when they have done all they can to manage the risk. Fundamentally we will ensure the health and safety system is fit for purpose through streamlining the maze of regulations and ensuring consistency across the board."

Professor Löfstedt said: “When the Minister invited me to conduct this review I was determined that it should be science-based, evidence-based and risk-based.

“My guiding principle is that regulation should also be founded on robust evidence and an assessment of the real risks. All the discussions I had and the evidence I have received over the past few months have served to reinforce this view.”