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New standards for H&S inspectors
28 March 2008
In April, HSE will issue new standards for health and safety enforcers including the Local Authority inspectors who cover most workplaces where Usdaw members work.
The standards are important because Local Authorities (L.A.s) enforce health and safety for the vast majority of Usdaw members who work in retail, distribution, catering and offices. The standards will be issued under Section 18 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires HSE and L.A.s to make adequate arrangements to ensure that health and safety law is enforced. Previous Section 18 guidance was less prescriptive than standards set for other enforcement regimes, such as food safety. As a result there was a national decline in L.A. resources devoted to health and safety enforcement in the 1990s. While some L.A.s have been working hard on health and safety enforcement, others have done very little.
In recent years steps to strengthen the partnership between HSE and L.A.s have started to reverse that national decline. The HSE has worked closely with LACORS (the co-ordinating body for local authority regulatory services) and more effort has been made to make elected councillors aware of L.A. responsibilities for health and safety enforcement. The new standards are intended to boost partnership between L.A.s and HSE and to make sure that L.A.s devote adequate resources to health.
Members who are active as local councillors should watch out for the new standards and for reviews of enforcement activity as a result of the standards.
HSE has also issued simple web-based guidance to L.A.s on the priority topics to be covered in sectors such as retail and distribution - http://www.hse.gov.uk/fit3street/. The guidance explains what the priority topics are for inspection and enforcement in each sector and also gives links to HSE guidance on enforcement action. In retail, for example, the HSE says inspectors should focus on musculoskeletal disorders, slips and trips, violence and aggression, asbestos, dermatitis and asthma.
Contact Details
Health and Safety section
Ph: 0161 249 2441
Fax: 0161 249 2475
Email: healthandsafety@usdaw.org.uk
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