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Works And Pensions Committee Express Disappointment At Level Of HSE Prosecutions

Sunday 12th July saw the publication of the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee's 4th report into Workplace Health & Safety.

Whilst the report acknowledges some of the positive changes within the HSE, it appears that the same criticism that Trade Unions have of the HSE, is also reflected in the report's findings and recommendations.

Report can be downloaded from the E-LibraryExpressing disappointment at the level of prosecutions undertaken by the HSE, the report states:

" We do not accept that the fall in prosecutions by HSE is insignificant. In 2003/04 HSE prosecuted 1,720 offences compared to 1,028 in 2007/08 – a reduction of around 40% over four years. The importance of prosecution, both as a response to those who breach health and safety law and as a deterrent to those who might, cannot be underestimated. We call on HSE to explain why there has been such a significant drop in the prosecutions it has taken since 2003/04 and how it will reverse this trend."

Commenting on the penalties for health & safety law infringement, the report recommendations say:

"We welcome the introduction of the Health and Safety (Offences) Act which will give courts greater powers of sentencing and increase fines for those who breach health and safety legislation. We are encouraged by HSE’s commitment to pressing for higher penalties where they are justified and will monitor its success in doing so."

The report though expresses concerns regarding the issuing of sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter convictions and criticises the Government:

" We are sympathetic to the complex process involved in developing the sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter convictions. However, we are disappointed that 18 months after the Sentencing Advisory Panel’s first proposals, the final guidelines are still not available. We ask the Government to confirm the publication date for the guidelines before the end of this parliamentary session."

It also goes on to criticise business awareness of the legislation:

" The findings of recent research suggest that director level awareness of guidance on health and safety legislation is unacceptably low."

It goes further in criticising the amount of data collected by the HSE in relation to workplace ill-health:

"The quality and coverage of ill-health data remains too low and incomplete. However, HSE acknowledges this fact and appears to be working hard to try and improve this."

The recommendations further comments on HSE targets:

"We are disappointed that HSE continues to miss its targets for ill health but believe that this is inevitable unless significantly more effort is made by other parts of Government, employers and employees to reduce working days lost and work related ill health."

The report and recommendations also look at the practice of blacklisting individuals and employees who report health and safety problems in the workplace:

"Blacklisting is a reprehensible practice, which acts to discourage and undermine worker involvement and accordingly threaten health and safety standards in the workplace. We welcome the Government’s intention to introduce regulations to ban blacklisting and ask for assurances that it will ensure this practice is eradicated completely. We look forward to receiving further information about the initiatives HSE are undertaking to address the issue."

The full 132 page report can be downloaded from the E-Library Database.

Source: House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Workplace health and safety: follow-up report Fourth Report of Session 2008–09



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