Surge in HSE inspections triggered by tip-offs
The number of tip off-led HSE inspections has rocketed in the last year, according to figures from law firm Pinsent Masons, prompting speculation that the increase could be linked to Fee for Intervention (FFI).
Based on a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, Pinsent Masons learned that the HSE undertook 3475 inspections based on tip-offs in 2012/13. This represents a leap of 43 per cent on the 2429 tip off-driven inspections undertaken in the previous 12 months.
The HSE receives intelligence on possible health and safety breaches from a number of sources. Tip off-based inspections include: whistleblowing reports from employees, or union reps; complaints from local residents; information from customers and suppliers; and insurance reports on workplace incidents.
Since October last year, the HSE has been able to charge businesses for its enforcement work if material breaches of certain health and safety regulations are found and need to be rectified. Of the increase in inspections, 78 per cent occurred before October last year; however, this could be attributable to the dry-run rehearsal of FFI that the HSE carried out prior to its final implementation, Pinsent Masons suggests.
Simon Joyston-Bechal, a partner at the law firm, warned businesses that whatever the reasons for the jump in tip off-led inspections, businesses must be vigilant to ensure high standards of health and safety do not drop.
He said: “Health and safety can sometimes be seen as an easy area for cost-cutting when bottom lines are under pressure. HSE knows this, and is clearly becoming more proactive in rooting out any regulatory breaches as soon as it has evidence.€ᄄ
“HSE’s new approach has made cost-cutting in health and safety even riskier than in the past. All directors and senior managers need to understand their obligations for health and safety and the proactive steps that the criminal law requires them to take to stay out of jail.”
Meanwhile, a separate Freedom of Information request by law firm DWF has revealed that the ‘second invoice run’ under FFI, which ran from 1 December 2012 to 31 January 2013, yielded around £857,000. The figure is around £100,000 higher than the first invoice run and included 1807 invoices — nearly 500 more than the total issued during the first period, which covered October and November 2012.
According to DWF, the HSE carried out 3062 proactive inspections during the second period, indicating that around 60 per cent of inspections result in an invoice being issued.
There was a significant increase in FFI time recorded against manufacturing businesses, which accounted for 43 per cent of the total number of invoices, followed by the construction sector, which received nearly 30 per cent of the total. However, the latter figure is expected to rise sharply, as the next invoice run will include the month-long blitz of construction sites, which resulted in one in five sites visited receiving at least one enforcement notice.
The water and waste management sector , which is high on the list of HSE priorities owing to its high fatalities rate, received just 63 invoices.
The average value of invoice remains relatively low at £474 — equivalent to just under four hours of inspectors’ time — but none of the 1807 invoices included charges for third-party specialist work from the likes of the Health & Safety Laboratory.
DWF also reports that there have been 89 queries raised in relation to the invoices issued, where the recipient was unhappy with either the cost or the reason given for the charge. Of these queries, 76 have been concluded, with the HSE conceding and amending 26 of them in favour of the recipient.
Steffan Groch, head of regulatory at DWF, commented: “This figure is encouraging, as it was feared that businesses would not challenge the invoices to avoid rocking the boat and attracting further unwanted attention from HSE. €ᄄ€ᄄ
“There is still a worry, though, that queries are not being dealt with independently. The HSE handles its invoices directly, which, some might say, is like parking wardens dealing with queries on the tickets they have issued. We encourage the HSE to review its appeal process to ensure they are dealt with in a fair and transparent manner.”
Commenting in response to Groch’s comments, a spokesperson for the regulator said: “At this early stage in the operation of the FFI scheme HSE has no plans to review the queries and disputes process, while we continue to gain experience of how all aspects of the scheme are operating.”
The HSE also stressed that its approach to inspections has been established for some time, and that it works to a threshold of 22,000 proactive inspections annually. It added that annual statistical variance is a natural result of the way it plans inspections to make best use of its resources.
Surge in HSE inspections triggered by tip-offs
The number of tip off-led HSE inspections has rocketed in the last year, according to figures from law firm Pinsent Masons, prompting speculation that the increase could be linked to Fee for Intervention (FFI).
Safety & Health Practitioner
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