HSE Defends Reduced Health & Safety Inspections

The HSE has defended itself against accusations that British workers are now more likely to be killed, made ill or injured at work than they were three years ago because of falling numbers of health and safety inspections.

Previously unpublished HSE figures obtained by Hazards show that in the three years from 2002/03 visits to firms by safety inspectors dropped by over a quarter, down from over 74,000 a year to barely 55,000 in 2004/05.

Responding to the TUC's claims, HSE Chief Executive Geoffrey Podger was quoted by journal Workplace Law as saying,

"It is undoubtedly true that there has been a decline in numbers and to be frank we have to understand that these are aggregates of decisions taken by individual inspectors; they don't reflect HSE wide targets as to how many people we will prosecute which would be a very improper view. There is no ideal number of prosecutions, what actually matters is that people are prosecuted when the criteria of prosecution are met.

"In this country people are only prosecuted if there is evidence that on the basis of which it seems likely that we would get a conviction. So it is not open to us to bring cases where there isn't an evidential basis, whatever we might personally think of what had occurred.

"It's important to recognise that the major part of our activity doesn't result in prosecution nor is there any need for it to do so. What we want to do above all else is to prevent accidents occurring to the maximum possible extent, it isn't to prosecute the maximum number of people after accidents have occurred. I think most of us would agree that it's better to have this pre-emptive approach."

The HSE attributes improvements in health and safety results both to the effectiveness of its regime and to hard work by businesses.

Souce: Workplace Law

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