Are The HSE Website Days Numbered By ConDem(ned) Gov Plans?

Rumours have been circulating the internet and health &  safety community for some weeks now with speculation that the ConDem(ned) Government’s cull of hundreds of government websites will result in the abolition of the current Health & Safety Executive website at http://www.hse.Gov.uk

Such rumours are fed by the fact that there is currently under development a new government website which, whilst not replacing at present the HSE website, does contain a list of health & safety topics that can be accessed from it.

It also contains over 170 links to 172 tools on its main browser page.

A message from the AlphaGov prototype team on the ‘tell us what you think’ web page explains the project:

‘Alpha.gov.uk is an experimental prototype (an 'alpha') of a new, single website for UK Government, developed in line with the recommendations of Martha Lane Fox's Review. The site is a demonstration, and whilst it's public it's not permanent and is not replacing any other website. It's been built in three months by a small team in the Government Digital Service, part of the Cabinet Office.’

Browsing on the new AlphaGov prototype one-stop government website, http://alpha.gov.uk/browse.html , will show you a vast range of information which is being imported from other government websites in order to close them.

Whilst the links when searching for ‘health & safety’ take you to another Alpha test web page, there is a whole list of health & safety subjects shown. The links to each does refer to the HSE website and takes you there, but there is no way of telling how long that will remain the case.

Furthermore, a good question is, if there is no intention to close the HSE website in the near future, why have any links to health & safety at all on the Alpha test site?

The government have also opened up several avenues through which the public can comment on the AlphaGov website. These include Facebook, Twitter, and direct email as well as the website itself.

It may be worth while for all those concerned about the future of the HSE website to comment on the AlphaGov test website with positive statements about the HSE’s website and opposition to any future closure of the site.

Whilst the HSE’s own figures show a high satisfaction rate by those using the HSE website, this Tory led coalition government are not known for their taking any notice of their own research and reports if they do not fit in with their own political agenda.

Given they detest anything to do with Health & safety and seem to have this pathological believe that everyone, including the business community is against current health and safety legislation, it will be most surprising if the HSE website survives in the long term.

This issue has not escaped the attention of the CWU’s national health and safety department, with Dave Joyce the Unions National Health, Safety & Environment Officer sending out a letter to branches on the current situation this week.

In LTB937/11 issued 7th November, Dave explains:

‘Rumours that the HSE website could be under threat began to circulate following publication of the minutes of A HSE meeting in April when it was suggested that the HSE’s website may become part of the ‘DirectGov’ website, along with all other Government departments and agencies. The CWU and other Unions as well as the TUC have expressed concerns at this possibility.’

Commenting on the history of the situation, Dave says:

‘Only 134 of the 444 central government websites currently live have been given approval to stay open. However, although the Cabinet Office have confirmed that Department of Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith had requested that the HSE website be retained “for the time being” and has stated that the list of government departments and agencies websites that may be retained pending decisions around the single web domain will continue to be reviewed from the perspective of cost-efficiencies in effective communication with the intended audiences.

User data from the Cabinet Office show that the HSE site performs very well against other government websites – a factor that should be taken into account when any decision is made on its future. A snapshot of the statistics show that:

• 2.9 per cent of users – got most, or all of what they needed;
• 81.7 per cent – said they were satisfied, or very satisfied;
• 91.2 per cent – described the site as good, or very good for ease of use;
• 79.8 per cent – described the site as good, or very good for ease of finding information;
• 83.8 per cent – described the site as having a good, or very good search facility; and
• 92.7 per cent – would definitely or probably recommend the site to others.

In the most recent statement and reply to enquiries the Cabinet Office has stated that the there are no plans to migrate HSE content on to the single government domain which is being developed and goes live in early 2012. The project will then be assessed and the way forward developed following the results.’

He concludes by adding:

‘In the most recent statement and reply to enquiries the Cabinet Office has stated that the there are no plans to migrate HSE content on to the single government domain which is being developed and goes live in early 2012. The project will then be assessed and the way forward developed following the results.’

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Source: HSE / AlphaGov / CWU

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