Select committee report dismissed by government

Ignoring a select committee's call for adequate resources to safeguard UK workers gives rogue employers the green light to continue maiming and killing employees, the inspectors' union Prospect has claimed.

Its comments follow the publication last month of the government's response to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee report into the work of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and Executive (HSE). With regard to the committee's endorsement of the Prospect campaign to double the number of HSE inspectors (see last month's Workplace Report), the government said there was no evidence that this "would be the most effective or efficient way to achieve significant improvements in health and safety".

Prospect has 1,750 members in the HSE. General secretary Paul Noon said: "Despite Gordon Brown's assertion that safety at work is the mark of a civilised society, the government seems determined to ignore the funding crisis facing HSE."

Stephen Kay, chair of Prospect's HSE branch, said: "The government's refusal ignores the stack of evidence that enforcing the law is the most effective motivator for business to improve health and safety standards. It seems to herald the further decline of health and safety protection for the UK workforce and the public."