Regulating health and safety: an agenda for change

Phil James and David Walters, Institute of Employment Rights, 170 pages, paperback, £12.00 (cheaper if bulk ordered)

The Revitalising health and safety initiative was launched in 2000, by John Prescott in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with the aim of bringing about dramatic improvements to occupational health and safety over the next ten years. Unfortunately, at the halfway point it is clear that the HSE has barely met its modest targets for preventing fatal and major injuries and reducing work-related ill health.

This book was originally written just before the initiative was launched and was critical of its voluntary approach. It also warned of the government taking credit for improvements that are the result of cyclical and employment changes rather than from safety practices.

This new updated edition insists that more drastic changes are needed. It calls for more powers for safety reps, accountability for companies and individual directors and tougher enforcement of existing law and new reforms, especially in the area of occupational health.