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The TUC and unions have welcomed the recommendations of the Triennial Review into the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which confirms the important role the regulator plays in reducing injury and ill health caused by work.
This review, authored by a government-selected business lobby group leader, is the fourth to examine the health and safety system since 2010, following the Young and Loftsedt reports and the “Red tape” challenge.
All have confirmed the need for a robust health and safety system and have concluded that the Health and Safety at Work Act has stood the test of time. The review also confirmed the current regulatory regime “is fit for purpose.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“This is the fourth government-commissioned report in recent years to highlight the benefits that the HSE brings to workers across the UK. The past few years have been difficult for the HSE given the cuts to funding and reductions in enforcement activity. We hope that the government will now support the HSE in taking forward the review’s recommendations and give it the resources and political backing it so desperately needs.”
 She added:
“The report is supportive of bringing together unions, employers and government to deal with health and safety issues. We are concerned, however, that the government’s implementation of some of its recommendations could undermine this approach. It is important that unions and employers continue to play an equal role in the way the HSE operates. There was huge support from all those who responded to the review for the work of the HSE as a public body. We believe that, given the scale of injury and illness across UK workplaces, the government should not undermine the ability of the HSE to meet that challenge.”
The report of the review – authored by the chair of the employers’ lobby group EEF (historically one of the worst anti-trade union and anti regulations organisations), Martin Temple - concluded the current system works, contradicting government complaints that health and safety is a “burden on business”.
It found:
“In both development of standards and submitting proposals for legislation, HSE’s strength was seen to be its technical expertise and its access and contact with all the relevant stakeholders (employers and employee representatives).”
The report also opposed the government driven “dumbing down” of guidance. And it rejected outright the privatisation of HSE functions, noting an HSE which is a “non-departmental public body remains the appropriate delivery model.” It was exactly what ministers didn’t want to hear, so the government promptly announced it was going to go its own deregulatory way regardless.
 In a 9 January ministerial statement, safety minister Mike Penning said the government wants
“to go further to introduce reforms of HSE to ensure that it delivers value for money to the taxpayer, whilst ensuring safety for the nation. There is considerable potential for HSE to become more commercial in outlook and in delivery – increasing the pace of the work already started within the organisation. Therefore, I have asked HSE to begin work immediately to examine commercial models for HSE in collaboration with HMT and Cabinet office, and to review the HSE Board to ensure it has the right skills to oversee future efficiencies and commercial income generating options.”
TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson commented:
“So once again they have asked a question and because they do not like the answer they are going to go ahead with what they clearly wanted to do anyway. They have also indicated that they will not respond to other parts of the triennial review until later in the year,” leaving HSE “in limbo”. He said the last minute government decision to strap the recruitment process for a new HSE chief executive, after interviews had taken place, suggested the government now intended to “appoint someone who will share their zeal for greater commercialisation.”
Source: TUC Risks
Youcan download the Triennial Review of the HSE full report from the E-Library Database using search word 'triennial'
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