National Audit Office to hold inquiry into the work of HSE

Public services watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) is investigating the role of the Health and Safety Executive in improving health and safety in the construction industry.

The investigation is part of a "programme of value for money studies" into specific government activities and programmes and is the first NAO inquiry into the HSE for nine years and

David Bergman, director of the Centre for Corporate Accountability says: "It is welcome that the NAO is looking into the effectiveness of the HSE. However, it should be noted that the NAO can only inquire into whether the HSE is using its existing resources efficiently, and not whether further resources are required."

The NAO has already carried out preliminary investigations to identity the main issues and methodology for the study and is currently carrying out the fieldwork.

More information from the Centre for Corporate Accountability: www.corporateaccountability.org