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Safety Net Journal Issue 3 |
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HSE inspections decline
By Tony Larkin
A report in the TUC-backed safety journal 'Hazards' shows a dramatic fall in HSE inspection and enforcement despite assurances from Health and Safety Commission (HSC) chair Bill Callaghan.
At the November 2004 TUC conference he said there was no plan for "a shift of resources away from inspection and enforcement."
Following several requests for the information from HSE by Hazards magazine, it was finally disclosed after a submission was made under the Freedom of Information Act.
The figures show a marked decline in inspections, and in enforcement activity over the last three years.
The Hazards article, 'Sure, we'll be safe:HSE is walking away from inspections',- http://www.hazards.org/commissionimpossible/hse - is published in the April-June 2006 issue of Hazards. It reveals official statistics that are no longer publicly reported by HSE. They show a 25% fall in inspections from 74,000 in 2003/03 to 55,000 in 2004/05. Similar declines in prosecutions - from 960 in 2003/054 to 712 last year - and in improvement or prohibition notices - from 11,335 to 8,445 - are also revealed.
It would appear that companies are now less likely to be inspected, prosecuted, convicted and are less likely to receive an HSE improvement notice.
TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said of the figures,'We know that inspections and prosecutions are the most effective way to stop employers from breaking the law. While good employers have nothing to fear from inspections, rogue bosses have never before enjoyed such freedom to neglect safety rules. There is a real danger that the UK's safety record will get worse unless the HSE devotes more resources to carrying out a greater number of more effective inspections.'
Hazards journal is a health and safety journal that provides resources and information for trade union activists and is supported by the TUC,. For subscription details see http://www.hazards.org/subscribe/index.htm.
Source: Hazards magazine
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