IER submits response to the Triennial Review of the HSE
Submitted by sglenister on Fri, 26/07/2013 - 15:09
26 July 2013
The Institute of Employment Rights (IER) has submitted a response to the Department of Work and Pensions' consultation on the Triennial Review of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
On launching the consultation, the government implied that the HSE may have its resources or responsibilities cuts, or the body could be abolished altogether
However, authors David Whyte and Steve Tombs - both academics, at the University of Liverpool and the Open University respectively - have built a very strong evidence-based case for HSE resources to be strengthened.
"We welcome this review of the HSE since, as the evidence set out in this response demonstrates, it is clear that the regulator is increasingly unfit for purpose. It is presently unable to provide either minimal inspection coverage or a credible threat of enforcement, and is therefore in no position to secure compliance with the law," the authors wrote.
They sided with the view of a 2004 Work and Pensions Select Committee that recommended the doubling of inspectors employed by the HSE and a substantial increase in resources to the body.
"Consistent reductions in resources, staff, and all forms of enforcement activity since those recommendations only further underscore the urgency of their implementation," Whyte and Tombs concluded.
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