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The HSE is depending more on complaints and “whistle-blowers” to compensate for the collapse in proactive inspections forced on it by the coalition government. According to figures obtained by law firm Pinsent Masons after making a freedom of information request to the HSE, more than 4,000 inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive officers as the result of tip-offs and other intelligence gathering in the year to March 2014.
The figures is up by 18 per cent on the previous 12 months and up by 70 per cent since 2012. This however in no way compensates for the 11,000 net fall in the number of inspections caused by the wider changes in inspection policy.
The HSE said,
“These are intelligence-prompted inspections where we have reason to suspect unsatisfactory health and safety standards.”
However the number of complaints have been falling over recent years as people find it harder to contact the HSE with local contact numbers being removed from websites.
The TUC’s head of Health and Safety, Hugh Robertson said,
“The fall in inspection numbers and the increased reliance on complaints shows that the only people who can expose what is going on it the workplace is union health and safety representatives. While they must raise problems with the employer first, as a last resort they should be prepared to let the HSE know what is happening before someone is killed and injured. We cannot replace HSE inspectors, but we can act as eyes and ears”.
He said that unions had been in discussions with the HSE about setting up a process to allow union health and safety representatives to give intelligence to the HSE and that was likely to be announced in the next few weeks.
Source: TUC Risks
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