HSE Cutbacks

simian

simian

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Leaked HSE letter shows safety checks at risk from cuts The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is proposing to reduce unannounced workplace inspections by a third, the BBC has learned

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is proposing to reduce unannounced workplace inspections by a third, the BBC has learned.

A leaked letter from the HSE outlines plans to withdraw inspections from entire sectors of industry, including some where “significant risk” remains.

The organisation is facing a 35% cut in its government grant, leading to concerns for workplace safety.

The HSE said no final decision had been made.

HSE inspectors and their counterparts in local authority environmental health departments carry out thousands of visits to business premises each year.

The unannounced “knock on the door” has traditionally formed a key aspect of the HSE’s approach to regulation, and is credited with helping to prevent accidents and reduce the number of workplace deaths, which currently stand at an all-time low.

But in February, chief executive Geoffrey Podger proposed a reduction in what the HSE calls “proactive inspections”. In a letter obtained by the BBC’s File on 4 programme, he outlines plans to reduce HSE inspections by a third.

The HSE’s job is to make the workplace safe, but now it’s being explicitly instructed not to do that job right”

The letter identifies three high hazard sectors including the nuclear, offshore and chemical industries which will be ring-fenced from the proposed cuts.

It also states that some other industries will still remain subject to unannounced visits, but these are not identified. But the letter also outlines two categories where proactive inspections will be entirely withdrawn from future HSE operations.

In one case this is put down to the “relative cost-effectivenes” of the procedure.

For another, inspections are deemed not “necessary or useful” despite the HSE acknowledging the “significant risk’” posed by the industries under consideration.

The move has caused concern among health and safety campaigners.

Professor Rory O’Neill, editor of the safety magazine Hazards, believes it signals a fundamental departure from the HSE’s role as safety watchdog.

“The HSE’s job is to make the workplace safe, but now it’s being explicitly instructed not to do that job right,” he said.

“The implication for health and safety is that workplaces will become deregulated.”

Dr Courtney Davis of Sussex University reviewed the worldwide evidence for the value of proactive inspections, and believes any reduction is likely to have a detrimental impact on worker safety.

“The most robust studies show that inspection plus enforcement are associated with a decline in injury rates of 22% for the following three years,” she said.

“The evidence relating to new, soft interventions is much weaker, and almost non-existent.

“It doesn’t appear to be the case that these alternatives are effective in improving compliance with health and safety law or injury rates.”

An HSE spokesperson said: “We regularly consult with partner organisations on future ways of working. Discussions do not constitute a final decision so it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.

“The emphasis should be on outcomes – the incidence of accidents and ill-health – rather than the number of particular types of inputs by the regulator.

“The estimated number of working days lost due to workplace injuries and ill-health is now the lowest it has ever been in Britain.”
 
Its always one of the first things to get cut out on sites when time or money is at a premium, so therefore no real surprise the government is cutting health an safety aswell .

Hopefully everyone and all companies have learned enough and continue training enough people so as to keep the accident figures down , once health an safety becomes 100% part of our work culture it will be a lot easier to police by those concerned, we have not got to that point yet so i would say to cut inspections now would be a mistake that could possibly lead to the need of major finincial input again in the future to bring dropping standards back upto the mark .

I personally think we are almost there , the new generation of workers are being brought through with H&S bred into them , My generation were brought through with 50% old school training an 50% new school training so we have fully accepted and adapted to H&S, Which only leaves old school generation which have adapted as best they can but you cant teach old dogs new tricks but that generation now is either in management or into their twilight years of employment so within say next decade H&S will become very much part of our working culture,

Therefore we need one last big push to keep statistics going in the right direction,

Every man or women has the right to wake up on a morning , go to work , so to put fuel on the fire and food on the table for their families , and return every night with all their fingers an toes still in tact and healthy.

To me the above statement says the government doesnt think the same way
 
that is spot on superscaff it has been hard for the likes of my self to change the habits of a life time , but as us older ones retire of then the next generation will work in a different way
as it is all they know
 
superscaff75 said:
Its always one of the first things to get cut out on sites when time or money is at a premium, so therefore no real surprise the government is cutting health an safety aswell .

Hopefully everyone and all companies have learned enough and continue training enough people so as to keep the accident figures down , once health an safety becomes 100% part of our work culture it will be a lot easier to police by those concerned, we have not got to that point yet so i would say to cut inspections now would be a mistake that could possibly lead to the need of major finincial input again in the future to bring dropping standards back upto the mark .

I personally think we are almost there , the new generation of workers are being brought through with H&S bred into them , My generation were brought through with 50% old school training an 50% new school training so we have fully accepted and adapted to H&S, Which only leaves old school generation which have adapted as best they can but you cant teach old dogs new tricks but that generation now is either in management or into their twilight years of employment so within say next decade H&S will become very much part of our working culture,

Therefore we need one last big push to keep statistics going in the right direction,

Every man or women has the right to wake up on a morning , go to work , so to put fuel on the fire and food on the table for their families , and return every night with all their fingers an toes still in tact and healthy.

To me the above statement says the government doesnt think the same way
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Speach my man, spot on;)
churchill himself would be proud of that.
 
May i also add that " The letter identifies three high hazard sectors including the nuclear, offshore and chemical industries which will be ring-fenced from the proposed cuts "

The above sectors must be the most safety concious sectors on the planet, they are being ring fenced from cuts , yet surely because of the safety culture these already have in place, a H&S exec consultation type group could just be as effective in this sector, so possibly could divert bit more resources into the
refurbishment, shopfitting and fit out sectors of construction which are regarded as the worse for breaches of safety which reguarly get improvement notices or shut down , during H&S inspections whether announced or unannounced.

I cannot give opinion on how it effects other sectors outside of construction or any sectors mentioned above as ive been in this job enviroment all my life and never been involved with factories or manufacturing or other industries .

On a more serious note , The Annual Bishop auckland shrove tuesday pancake race this year has been cancelled due to safety fears an automatic street bollard might fail and allow traffic down the main street where the race is held. you couldnt make it up could you LMFAO

Unless it was McGoo driving the motor im sure most drivers would notice the street was full of people running with a pancake in a pan and stop. :nuts::cry::suspicious:

What a Load of bollards H&S gone flipping mad lol
What a load of bollards (From The Northern Echo)
 
when the sccr meets with the HSE will the sccr put before the HSE the idea that was mooted back a while ago concerning the introducton of scaffolder-HSE liasion ,in these times of austerity we were saying trained scaffs could work beside hand in hand with the HSE inspector.a tie up with mutual benefits for all concerned,and keeps the impartiality aspect also which is very important in this matter as we all can see the NASC has only an agenda for the few and would not be an apt body to supply labour for this purpose.....as their lack of nutrality and impartiality(well documented on here)would hinder any such tie up.
 
sounds like you're drifting to how we work in Ontario,wouldn't recommend it,our Health&Safety when we have them are paid individually by contractor,shits and giggles for all
 
sounds like you two are babbling again thought you were busy expanding??pushed the boat out with this little moniker though haent yous?
 
Celticbhoy, Do you reckon as part of the cut backs maybe lay offs in direct employed HSE inspectors, that they will sub this work out to outside agencies and if so can impartiality be ensured, The government here are looking at the HSA in similar lines.
 
I personally welcome the cuts. It's just another bloated and bueracratic, poorly managed farce - Paid for, essentially, by you and me.

The suggestion that the HSE have an impact in reducing the rate of accidents in the construction sector due to the possibilty of the 'knock at the door' scenario is laughable.

The HSE are, however, very good at being 'wise after the event' - Which is extremely easy to be.

Decent construction and utility contractors are not afraid of the HSE turning up and serving an improvement or prohibition notice - They're afraid of their insurance premiums going up in the case of an accident or incident and they strive to reduce their insurance liabilities by implimenting a plethora of sometimes weird and wonderful schemes and working practices.

That's all it is.
 
goodman phillio.

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------

the cuts are coming irrespective wether you welcome them or not,anything that can be done to preserve life in construction im all for.
 
celticbhoy said:
goodman phillio.

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------

the cuts are coming irrespective wether you welcome them or not,anything that can be done to preserve life in construction im all for.
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Celtic, my point was that I don't think that the HSE have any effect on 'preserving life' in construction.

Just my opinion mate.
 
you have the same circus in play as to the drive is to keep premiums down, but are the referees paid for by the teams individually or is there some pretence at separating them them from bias,apologies to celticbhoy if the Shavian pun that I use for a moniker is putting his boats at risk,perhaps he could try tying them
 
and i respect that phil i must differ from that though as i see the hse as the only credible enforcement we have to preserve life in our trade,which i may add has improved immensely over the years.but for them it would be a free for all nobodys perfect though theres allways room for improvement.
 
Is this another report of an earlier cut or another round of cut's? I thought this was well documented a few weeks back.
 
its the same cuts mate just waiting for them to take affect,not a good time ahead i fear.
 
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