30 June 2017

By Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology, Open University

Since 2010, the Coalition, then the Tories, have both continued and significantly extended some of the ‘reforms’ initiated by Blair and Brown under the Better Regulation initiative from 2004 onwards; and, significantly, these approaches to regulation in general and to health and safety law and enforcement in particular, have been pursued in the context of austerity and the attempt to shrink the state. The effect of these trajectories has been to unravel the levels of social protection for workers and local communities. Health and safety law is being undone, undermined and is under attack.

23 June 2017

By Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology, the Open University

"It's going to come to the point where it's going to affect the residents, the local population, in many ways we are at that point now, public health and protection is being eroded." Environmental Health Officer, Merseyside.

26 May 2017

By Phil James, Professor of Employment Relations at Middlesex University; David Walters, Professor of Work Environment at Cardiff University; Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology at the Open University; and David Whyte, Professor of Socio-legal Studies at the University of Liverpool

Too many workers and their families suffer from the failure of their employing organisations to provide safe and healthy working conditions. Injuries, acute and chronic ill-health and death occur all too frequently, also generating emotional and financial costs. Yet employing organisations are rarely held accountable for these outcomes. In fact, most of the associated costs are borne by those harmed and their families, and the taxpayer through the costs of paying benefits and providing health care.

14 October 2016

Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology, The Open University

This week, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee published an evaluation of the Better Regulation initiative. The Government, it stated, “has set a target to reduce the cost to business of regulation by £10 billion between 2015 and 2020. So far it has achieved less than £1 billion”. In other words, ‘Better Regulation’ must do better.

Steve Tombs

David Whyte

6 March 2015

By Professor Steve Tombs, Open University and Professor David Whyte, Liverpool University

Steve Tombs and David Whyte analyse Richard Baker MSP’s new draft Bill for the Scottish parliament and consider whether it could be a model for reform across the UK.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act (“CMCHA”), rolled out across the UK seven years ago to radically improve accountability for corporate killing, has so far failed dismally to improve accountability for deaths at work.