Changes afoot for Health & Safety in Scotland

With the health & safety landscape in the UK changing rapidly, Neal Stone takes a look
at some of the factors which are affecting Scotland in particular

There has been a considerable shift in the health and
safety landscape in Great Britain over the last twelve
months. It is quite difficult not only to list all of the
major developments but to absorb the enormity of the changes
that are taking place or may take place to our health and safety
framework in the coming months and years.

In Scotland a further layer
of potential change has
been added as a result of the
interest of the House of
Commons Scottish Affairs
Committee in the work of
HSE in Scotland. In
February this year the
National Audit Office
(NAO) submitted a
memorandum to the
committee in which it set
out a series of key findings
concerning the
management of health and
safety in Scotland. The
NAO explored and reported on the comparative differences in
injury rates in sectors as construction between Scotland and the
rest of Great Britain, the effectiveness of HSE’s activities in
Scotland and HSE’s performance in the area of its enforcement
activities.

Enquiry into health & safety in Scotland
Hard on the heels of this NAO overview the Scottish Affairs
Committee announced its own inquiry into health and safety in
Scotland. The wide-ranging inquiry, which completed its
evidence gathering in July sought, among other things, to
examine the effectiveness of health and safety regulation in
Scotland, the effectiveness of HSE’s interventions, the effect of
any reduction in HSE workforce on its work in Scotland and
whether HSE’s present organisational structure was the best way
to manage health and safety in the context of devolution.

In addition to the mass of written evidence submitted by the
regulator, health and safety bodies as the British Safety Council,
by trade associations and trade unions, HSE and the Scottish
TUC appeared in person before the Scottish Affairs Committee.

What was clear to the British Safety Council having surveyed its
members in Scotland was that there was considerable support for
the view that our current regulatory framework was working
effectively. However opinions were evenly divided on the
devolution of health and safety to the Scottish government and
indeed on the creation of a separate HSE for Scotland. There was
almost total unanimity on the need for an expert and properly
resourced regulator for health and safety in Scotland and one
which could meet and deal with the challenges posed by
economic and geographical conditions particular to that country.

The outcome of that inquiry is awaited.

In addition there are the broader reviews and planned changes
that will impact not only on Scotland but on England, Wales and
inevitably Northern Ireland too. The review of health and safety
conducted on behalf of the coalition government by Lord Young
resulted in a series of recommendations that touched not only
our health and safety regime but many linked and important
areas, including, the legal costs of personal injury claims. It seems
like a lifetime ago that Lord Young outlined the details of the
government and his concerns over the framework of health and
safety management. The eighteen months that has elapsed since
his speech at the SECC in Glasgow have not seen a slowing of the
pace of reform and change – quite the contrary.

Last autumn the full extent of the impact of public spending
cuts on the work of both health and safety regulators, that is HSE
and the local authorities, became known. We learnt that the cuts
would not only impact on the number of frontline inspection
staff, both HSE Inspectors and local authority EHOs, but on
other services expertly provided by these bodies.

It was difficult to see how campaigns as ‘Shattered lives’
tackling slips, trips and falls and ‘Hidden killers’ on asbestos
would be afforded in the future. HSE’s Infoline, an expert source
of advice to employers and workers in all organisations of all
sizes in all sectors will cease to operate this month. HSE is
currently consulting on proposals to introduce a ‘fee for
intervention’ whereby duty holders in material breach will have
to bear the cost of HSE’s intervention activity.

The implications of the Löfstedt review
There is more. We await the outcome of the review of health and
safety legislation chaired by Professor Löfstedt which is due in
the autumn with considerable interest. The British Safety
Council submitted detailed evidence to the review having
consulted its member organisations across Scotland, Wales and
England. Our clear message to the review was that our members
had great confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of our
health and safety regulatory framework in playing an important
part in preventing workplace injury and work-related ill health.

We await with interest too the outcome of the recent
consultation on the changes to the RIDDOR reporting
requirements.

The event organisers, Western Business Exhibitions, and its
education partner the British Safety Council would like to thank
the impressive panel of speakers drawn from HSE, business, the
law and the trade unions who have agreed to participate in
Health & Safety Scotland. It has all the makings of a lively and
highly informative two days.

Neal Stone is director of policy
and research, British Safety Council