Appendix
The Government welcomes the fourth report of the
Work and Pensions Select Committee, Session 2003-04, entitled
The work of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive, which
was published on 25 July 2004. The Committee acknowledges that
the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a high quality organisation
and that Great Britain has one of the best health and safety records
in Europe. It is also supportive of the current legislative framework
for health and safety.
Whilst the majority of recommendations of the Committee
are related to activities of HSE's Field Operations Directorate,
over 40 per cent of operational activity within HSE is aimed at
major hazards such as those arising from the nuclear or chemical
industry. The work carried out in this area is aimed at meeting
the targets for controlling risks from major hazards and provides
the assurance that risks to workers and the public associated
with major hazards are properly controlled.
The approach to managing health and safety in Great
Britain is risk based. This has stood the test of time and has
wide support from stakeholders. This means that we will not have
a 'risk free' society, and that we will not adopt a 'risk averse
approach' to the way we manage risks in the workplace. Instead
the Government's approach is one where risks are sensibly managed
and the measures, including resources, are targeted and proportionate
to the degree of risk.
The Government is committed to further improvements
in health and safety and recognises that national performance
has plateaued since the mid 1990s. In response to this, the Government
launched the Revitalising Health and Safety initiative in 2000
setting specific targets to be met over a ten year period.
In February 2004, the Health and Safety Commission
(HSC) launched its Strategy for workplace health and safety in
Great Britain to 2010 and beyond (hereafter referred to as the
HSC's workplace strategy). The Government gave details of the
main themes of this strategy to the Committee in its written evidence.
The Government continues to endorse this strategy, seeing it as
providing the strategic direction needed to achieve the improvements
we all seek in the changing world of work, and remains committed
to seeing it fully implemented. As details of the various work
strands in this strategy are developed and tested, this will better
inform the requirements for HSE resources.
The government approach on resources is to focus
them on areas where they will have the greatest impact on improving
health and safety, rather than to apply a blanket increase across
the board. HSE will need to use the resources provided to achieve
this impact through prioritising and targeting its activities.
Health in particular is a complex area and one in which the impact
of interventions is seen only over a much longer period than safety
issues. HSE has started a number of pilots which will better inform
decisions on what works best and provide the evidence base on
which to resource and roll out the successful aspects of the pilots.
The Government strongly supports the view, recognised
by all key stakeholders in the health and safety system that the
people best placed to understand and manage the risks in the workplace
are the workers and managers that work in them. The Government
has, in particular, promoted the involvement of workers' safety
advisers in the workplace. The Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions recently announced schemes awarding financial support
from the Workers' Safety Adviser Challenge Fund, which makes available
£3M over a three year period.
The Government has examined carefully the commitments
on legislation in the Revitalising Health and Safety and has prioritised
them. The Government is preparing proposals for removal of Crown
immunity and greater penalties for health and safety offences
to be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
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