This information has been supplied by the TUC:
A renewed government drive to abolish official safety inspections in hundreds of thousands of businesses and to force regulators to take a hands-off approach will put the health of millions of workers at risk, the TUC has warned. The union body was responding to plans outlined by Vince Cable. The business secretary said: 'Removing unnecessary red tape and putting common sense back into areas like health and safety will reduce fears and costs for businesses. We want to help give British business the confidence it needs to create more jobs and support the wider economy to grow.' In future, businesses will only be inspected if they are operating in high risk areas, such as construction, or if they have a poor record. The plan to end safety inspections in 'lower risk' workplaces repeats changes already implemented under the government's March 2011 health and safety blueprint. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already gone further, and included some known higher risk workplaces, like agriculture and quarries, in its no-go categories for unannounced inspections. But the government now intends to introduce a legally binding statutory code in April 2013 outlawing proactive inspections of in all but 'high risk areas'. HSE will also be required to ensure local authority regulators abide by the non-inspection rules. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber condemned the government action, warning the 'UK is facing an occupational health epidemic.' He added: 'Some of the 'low risk' workplaces identified by the government, such as shops, actually experience high levels of workplace injuries. This will only get worse if employers find it easier to ignore safety risks. This epidemic will only be stopped by ensuring that employers obey the law, and when every employer knows their workplace can be visited at any time. Health and safety regulation is not a burden on business, it is a basic protection for workers. Cutting back on regulation and inspections will lead to more injuries and deaths as result of poor safety at work.' Business lobby groups the CBI, EEF, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Federation of Private Businesses (FPB) all welcomed the government plan to remove safety oversight at work.
