Under the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998, Local Authorities (LAs) in the United Kingdom are responsible for the enforcement of Health and Safety legislation in more than half of all work premises and for around half of the employed workforce.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the enforcement of premises such as nuclear installations, mines, hospitals, offshore oil and gas installations, transport depots and factories.
The current divide in the allocation of responsibility can be confusing and amount to an inefficient use of resources. More often than not, responsibility can switch between the HSE and the LA in question.
This had been addressed by the introduction of the concept of "flexible warranting" under section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA). It allows enforcing authorities to appoint "suitably qualified" inspectors and notably allows a LA to appoint an HSE inspector (and vice-versa) where appropriate. This can, where necessary, allow LA inspectors to operate outwith their geographical boundary.
Section 18 of the HSWA requires the HSE and the LAs to make "adequate arrangements" for the enforcement of all relevant statutory provisions. The existing guidance on Section 18 has been replaced by a new HSE "standard" that must be complied with by March 2011.
The HSE has been working with the eight LAs in Dorset on a project known as WorkWell Dorset. This project has been designed to enable the organisations to develop new ways of working together locally to deliver improved enforcement and health and safety outcomes. The project has allowed the organisations to effectively target risk as there are no longer the constraints of geographical and enforcement boundaries.
Since WorkWell Dorset began in January 2009, it has reportedly transformed the relationship between the HSE and the LAs from "wary coexistence to mutually supportive co-regulators" and although the project ended in March 2010 it has provided a platform for continuing joint planning and operations within the County.
The project will help Dorset to demonstrate compliance with the new "standard" mentioned above and shows that the eight LAs are already well ahead of the March 2011 deadline.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 12/04/2010.