Union says HSE cuts threaten safety at work

A funding crisis at the Health and Safety Executive threatens to bring the organisation to its knees, warns professionals' and specialists' union Prospect.

Prospect represents 1,750 inspectors, scientists and other professionals in the HSE. The union has condemned the government's decision to slash the Executive's budget.

The HSE has been told to make 5% cuts across all departments by October, with the result that 50 inspectors due to leave in the next year will not be replaced.

Steven Kay, chair of Prospect's HSE branch, said: "The HSE has reached a position where its ability to fulfil its mission statement - 'to ensure that risks to people's health and safety from work activities is properly controlled' - is in doubt."

Last year the union launched a campaign for an additional £35m a year to double the number of safety inspectors and ensure workplaces are inspected at least every five years. Currently, employers can expect to be visited once every 20 years, if at all.