New advisory role for HSC comes under fire again

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to provide advice "free from the fear of enforcement" - part of a new HSC strategy described by critics as "enforcement-lite".

HSC chair Bill Callaghan said a consultation had found that some businesses, particularly smaller enterprises, wanted to comply with health and safety standards but were reluctant to approach the HSE or local authorities for fear of alerting them to their problems and inviting enforcement action.

Announcing new guidelines on separating HSE's advice and enforcement functions, Callaghan said: "In the strategy we commit ourselves to developing channels of advice and support that can be accessed without the perceived fear of enforcement action."

However, new research has questioned the HSE's drift towards self-regulation and voluntarism. Academics Ian Vickers and Philip James argue that there is "scope to improve health and safety standards in small firms by the introduction of more regular and frequent external inspection". They found inspections were "a motivational influence" for safety improvements, were actually welcomed by some employers, and led directly to increased awareness of risks. Only "a small number recounted more negative experiences".

Derek Simpson, general secretary of the skilled and professional union Amicus, said there was "overwhelming evidence that the threat of legal action is the key driver" for companies to improve standards.

The HSE statement on providing accessible advice and support can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/plans/advice.pdf