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HSE Propose to Abolish Fourteen Health & Safety Legislations

As previously reported, the HSE is embarking on a programme of undertaking a series of consultations on proposals to reduce or modify Health and Safety Regulations, ACoPs and Guidance under instruction from the Coalition Government which has pledged that it will reduce the total number of regulations businesses have to comply with by 84 per cent by 2014 and this appears to be the driving force behind the plans rather than any proposed changes being justified or being evidence based. This consultation is the first of many more so called "Revocation Consultations" to follow.

In his letter to CWU branches, the union's National Health, Safety & Environment Officer, Dave Joyce, advises that the CWU along with all other respondents to HSE Consultation CD239 has now received a response from the HSE.

LTB671/12 reproduces the HSE responce to the union which is as follows:

29 August 2012

To: All respondents to HSE consultation CD239 

Subject: HSE consultation CD239

Thank you again for responding to the consultation 'Proposals to remove fourteen legislative measures'. Please see the statement below, which includes a link to the HSE Board paper containing the detail on the consultation responses and HSE's analysis of them.
 
HSE Board recommendation on the revocation of 14 legislative measures
 
The HSE Board has agreed proposals to revoke a number of regulations as part of HSE's programme of work to make the health and safety system easier to understand to help increase levels of compliance.
 
Following consideration of consultation responses and HSE's expert views, the Board agreed to recommend the revocation of 13 of the 14 legislative measures put to them (Wednesday 22 August), agreeing that they can be removed without any compromise on health and safety.

This is because they duplicate protections found in other more recent regulations, are redundant or do not deliver the intended benefits. 
 
The Board stressed the importance of engaging with employers and employees to ensure that there is a clear understanding that the required standards remain the same and that the changes will simply remove duplication of regulation.

The Board has asked for additional information on the work that is being undertaken to maintain standards if the Docks Regulations 1988 are removed and will make a decision on whether to recommend revocation once this has been provided.
 
All recommendations will go to the Minister for decision in due course"
 
Further detail:-
 
The legislative measures put to the Board were either directly recommended for revocation in the Löfstedt review or identified by HSE HSE's board recommends that the following legislation should be repealed or revoked without a reduction in health and safety protections in the workplace:
 
· Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922
· Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Exemptions) Regulations 1980
· Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Repeals and Modifications) Regulations 1974
· Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982
· Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances (Amendment) Regulations 2002
· Gasholders (Record of Examinations) Order 1938 and a related provision (section 39 (2)) in the Factories Act 1961
· Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing Regulations 1960
· Docks, Shipbuilding etc (Metrication) Regulations 1983
· Locomotives etc Regulations 1906 (Metrication) Regulations 1981
· Gasholders and Steam Boilers (Metrication) Regulations 1981 
· Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989
· Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 and Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes (Amendment) Regulations 2010 

For further consideration by the Board:
Docks Regulations 1988

Regards
 
Tim Holt
Health & Safety Executive
Strategic Interventions Division

 
The LTB continues with Dave Joyce's comments on the above HSE response:

"The proposed revocations in this list were a result of specific recommendations from the Lofstedt review and others were the result of the ongoing HSE simplification work which pre-dates the current Coalition government's well publicised Health and Safety deregulation and accompanying 'light-touch' inspection and enforcement regime. Although the CWU as with the TUC and other Trade Unions have no concerns over the majority of this first group of proposed removals, there is however considerable concern over the implications of some of changes which we have strongly responded to, particularly in relation to the Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 and Docks Regulations 1988.

The Prime Minister's repeatedly attacks what he calls the UK's "excessive health and safety culture" are a collection of ill informed irresponsible and dangerous statements, including his Coalition government's New Year resolutions speech in which he pledged "to kill off the health and safety culture for good." DWP Employment and Health and Safety Minister Chris Grayling does likewise and recently defended the Government's stance and language used when discussing health and safety, saying: "It is an inescapable fact that there is a big burden out there that is unnecessary and has to go."

However the Government's own reviews of health and safety by Professor Ragnar Lofstedt and Lord Young have not supported their views and proclamations that health and safety regulation is a "burden on business". The UK Government's views on health and safety red tape are misleading.

The 'Red Tape Challenge" is a sham. It is not an appropriate way to determine government policy on health and safety at work -and it is an insult to workers everywhere, particularly those who have been injured themselves or for those families who have lost a loved one.

Since publication of his report last November Professor Lofstedt has expressed concerns about the misrepresentation of his report and has made some sharp rebuttals and on one occasion when questioned (by Dave Joyce) about the government misusing and misrepresenting his report the Professor
said "Yes I am concerned about that but if that was the kind of report they wanted they should have got a politician to write it not me !".

Professor Lofstedt has stated and re-stated time and time again "I have neither seen nor heard any evidence to suggest that there is a case for radically altering or stripping back current health and safety regulation. In general, the UK's health and safety regulations are fit for purpose",

Professor Lofstedt also found that "9 out of 10 employers who have had contact with the Health and Safety Executive see it as a 'helpful' organisation, and that H&S regulations from Europe are not excessive."

Finally, Dave refers to a forthcoming event which gives all CWU union safety reps the opportunity to attend and put questions direct to Professor Lofstedt when he is guest speaker at this year's Allan St John Holt Memorial Lecture on Tuesday 23rd October, 1.15pm at the London Pheonix Centre, Mount
Pleasant. CWU Health and Safety Reps are invited to apply for the limited 120 places and are welcome to attend.

This is a free to attend event promoted jointly by Royal Mail and Rospa as part of the EU Health and Safety Week activities.

Source: CWU


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