HSE Inspectors Union 'Prospect' Slams Tory Health and Safety

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No. 354/10
Ref EX5
Date: 26 April 2010



To: All Branches
 
Dear Colleagues
  
HSE Inspectors Union 'Prospect' Slams Tory Health and Safety Plans As 'Sheer Lunacy'!

'PROSPECT', a union which represents HSE Inspectors, scientists and other specialists in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has slammed Conservative Party plans to allow companies and employers to "Self-Regulate" and "Self-Audit" themselves, shutting the door on HSE and Local Authority Health and Safety Inspectors as “sheer lunacy”.
The union’s comments followed Tory proposals, outlined by the Conservative Party's Shadow Business Minister John Penrose, in which he stated that if elected the Conservatives would allow “low risk” businesses to be granted "immunity" from HSE and LA inspections if they pay for independent, private safety audit and if the audit gives them the ok they can shut the door on the Safety Inspectors from HSE.
The proposals are a key plank of the Conservative Party's policy paper, entitled "Regulation in the Post-Bureaucratic Age", in which it has said it is determined to put into effect if elected. Heavy criticism of the idea from a number of quarters hasn't shifted the Tories opinion.

'PROSPECT' warned in a statement: “Plans to side-step HSE inspectors amount to plans to side-step safety. Not only will this increase the risk to UK workers but far from reducing the regulatory burden on business, it will increase it. These proposals will open the flood gates for an army of private consultants, trained at public expense, to be unleashed without ministerial accountability on British industry. They will be free to charge business a fortune for advice that would constitute an inferior service to that currently provided for free by the HSE. 'PROSPECT' predicts that apart from the obvious sub-standard private safety audits, private health and safety consultants performing an inspection role could actually be inclined to err on the side of greater controls, because they would be required to second-guess an inspectors’ judgement of legal compliance. 'PROSPECT' predicts that the Tory plans could therefore lead to a greater burden on the business and the Union also questioned the need to restrict HSE’s actions adding that given that the average time between HSE Inspection visits is about 15 years, you have to ask how much of a burden on business HSE inspections really are?”

'PROSPECT' has written to Conservative Shadow Business Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, to raise the issues and highlight additional flaws in the Tories policy including:

• that despite productive discussions with shadow spokespeople, they have not consulted PROSPECT on this issue,

• the need to ensure that health and safety improvements in construction, designed to reverse the worst safety record in the economy and backed by both employers and Trade Unions, are not obstructed by a political wish to change for change’s sake,

• that because the calibre of any independent consultants will be crucial they will most likely be recruited from the existing inspectorate, thereby denuding HSE of its expertise, trained at the public expense,

• the lack of any mechanism for accountability, when HSE inspectors are accountable to parliament through both a nominated junior minister and scrutiny from the departmental select committee.
Opposition to the Conservative Party's Health and Safety plans are supported by the TUC, CWU and all other UK Unions along with Safety Professionals, the Hazards Campaign, Families Against Corporate Killers and a host of other Safety Campaign Organisations. The only support indicated so far comes from none other than Employers Organisations.

Yours Sincerely


Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer