A report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on
Occupational Safety and Health has found that the
number of health and safety inspectors employed by local
authorities has almost halved since 2010, and inspections are
down as a result.
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing health and safety
laws so that employers operating safe working environments, and
facilities remain safe for use by members of the public.
The parliamentarians are calling for changes in the way that
local authorities enforce the law, as they are concerned that
employers who risk the health and safety of their workforce, or
of the public, are not being brought to task.
The cross party group feels that there is still a role
for local authorities, working in partnership with national
enforcement body the Health and Safety Executive. The report
makes a number of clear recommendations aimed at improving the
way the inspection regime works, which include proposals that the
Government should do more to ensure that there is no duplication
between the work of the HSE and local councils and also that all
new enterprises should be visited at the earliest opportunity to
provide them with guidance on how to operate safely and legally.
In publishing the report, the Chair of the all-party group,
MP, said:
“We recognise the financial restraints that many local councils
are working under and the many competing demands on their
services, but we cannot allow the role of local authorities in
important areas such as health and safety to continue to decline.
Too many people are injured or made ill at work and, with a
strong inspection regime, many of these cases can be prevented. I
hope the Government and the HSE will consider and implement the
recommendations of this report.”
