It has been a funny old year for the HSE, whose latest annual report details its achievements and future plans against a background of cost-cutting and governmental edicts on reducing burdens on business.
During the period under review – April 2010 to March 2011 – it was announced that the regulator’s already tight budget would be cut by 35 per cent. This – together with the publication and subsequent acceptance by the Government of Lord Young’s recommendations on bringing common sense into safety – meant the HSE had to reprioritise, defer, and/or find alternative ways of implementing its plans.
| The HSE’s year in numbers | |
|---|---|
| Visits to COMAH sites | 80% of all sites visited |
| Inspection of sites with underground metallic LPG pipes | 2965 completed (since Oct 09) of total 3000 planned |
| Incidents investigated | 3800 |
| Complaints investigated | 11,500+ |
| Enforcement notices issued | 11,000+ |
| Offences prosecuted* | 1026 |
| Convictions secured* | 735 |
| Total fines imposed | £11.6 million |
| Small construction sites visited in the refurb sector | 2128 |
| Licensing visits to asbestos duty- holders | 1860 |
| Freedom of Information Act requests received | 6475 |
| * These figures relate to 2009/10 – the latest period for which confirmed figures are available | |
| ** Interestingly, the HSE accounts for 15 per cent of the requests received by all 43 bodies monitored under the Act and is the only one to have received more than 1000 requests during each quarter since the Act was implemented. | |
According to the annual report, since 2005 the HSE’s efforts to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens due to health and safety regulation have resulted in a saving of £559.2 million. In 2010/11, the cost-saving measures it adopted included “severely” cutting expenditure on consultancy services, renegotiating major contracts with suppliers, introducing new rules on business travel (the travel and other expenses of senior managerial staff can be found on the HSE’s website) and consolidating and closing regional offices.
A freeze on the recruitment of non-frontline staff was introduced in May 2010 and overall staffing numbers were reduced by 302 full-time equivalents (FTEs) during the period under review. However, 68 specialist inspectors were recruited for the nuclear and offshore sectors, and 22 trainee regulatory inspectors were also taken on. In all, as at March 2011, the HSE employed 1422 front-line staff – down from 1464 the previous year but up from 1405 in 2006/07.
The Executive’s net expenditure in 2010/11 amounted to £198,996,000 – around 84 per cent of which was accounted for by staff and admin costs, while programme costs amounted to around 16 per cent. The total income received through HSE fees and charges was £102,630,000, around 58 per cent of which came from activities in the nuclear, offshore and other COMAH sectors.
In terms of saving costs for business, the report cites the HSE’s work to simplify risk assessment for low-risk sectors, the consultation on amending RIDDOR 1995, and likely consolidation of regulations as a result of the forthcoming Löfstedt review of health and safety.
Looking to the future, the regulator says it will continue to transform its approach in order to “realise the best achievable impact on the health and safety system and deliver [its] functions more efficiently, and within a reducing budget”. This will include the aims listed in its 2011/12 Delivery Plan to reduce the level of proactive inspections in all but the highest-hazard sectors, earn more income through cost recovery and charging, and further simplify compliance.
The full annual report is available on the HSE website.
It has been a funny old year for the HSE, whose latest annual report details its achievements and future plans against a background of cost-cutting and governmental edicts on reducing burdens on business.
During the period under review – April 2010 to March 2011 – it was announced that the regulator’s already tight budget would be cut by 35 per cent. This – together with the publication and subsequent acceptance by the Government of Lord Young’s recommendations on bringing common sense into safety – meant the HSE had to reprioritise, defer, and/or find alternative ways of implementing its plans.
| The HSE’s year in numbers | |
|---|---|
| Visits to COMAH sites | 80% of all sites visited |
| Inspection of sites with underground metallic LPG pipes | 2965 completed (since Oct 09) of total 3000 planned |
| Incidents investigated | 3800 |
| Complaints investigated | 11,500+ |
| Enforcement notices issued | 11,000+ |
| Offences prosecuted* | 1026 |
| Convictions secured* | 735 |
| Total fines imposed | £11.6 million |
| Small construction sites visited in the refurb sector | 2128 |
| Licensing visits to asbestos duty- holders | 1860 |
| Freedom of Information Act requests received | 6475 |
| * These figures relate to 2009/10 – the latest period for which confirmed figures are available | |
| ** Interestingly, the HSE accounts for 15 per cent of the requests received by all 43 bodies monitored under the Act and is the only one to have received more than 1000 requests during each quarter since the Act was implemented. | |
According to the annual report, since 2005 the HSE’s efforts to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens due to health and safety regulation have resulted in a saving of £559.2 million. In 2010/11, the cost-saving measures it adopted included “severely” cutting expenditure on consultancy services, renegotiating major contracts with suppliers, introducing new rules on business travel (the travel and other expenses of senior managerial staff can be found on the HSE’s website) and consolidating and closing regional offices.
A freeze on the recruitment of non-frontline staff was introduced in May 2010 and overall staffing numbers were reduced by 302 full-time equivalents (FTEs) during the period under review. However, 68 specialist inspectors were recruited for the nuclear and offshore sectors, and 22 trainee regulatory inspectors were also taken on. In all, as at March 2011, the HSE employed 1422 front-line staff – down from 1464 the previous year but up from 1405 in 2006/07.
The Executive’s net expenditure in 2010/11 amounted to £198,996,000 – around 84 per cent of which was accounted for by staff and admin costs, while programme costs amounted to around 16 per cent. The total income received through HSE fees and charges was £102,630,000, around 58 per cent of which came from activities in the nuclear, offshore and other COMAH sectors.
In terms of saving costs for business, the report cites the HSE’s work to simplify risk assessment for low-risk sectors, the consultation on amending RIDDOR 1995, and likely consolidation of regulations as a result of the forthcoming Löfstedt review of health and safety.
Looking to the future, the regulator says it will continue to transform its approach in order to “realise the best achievable impact on the health and safety system and deliver [its] functions more efficiently, and within a reducing budget”. This will include the aims listed in its 2011/12 Delivery Plan to reduce the level of proactive inspections in all but the highest-hazard sectors, earn more income through cost recovery and charging, and further simplify compliance.
The full annual report is available on the HSE website.
