Business-friendly inspections promised

A business-friendly inspection system for health and safety has been promised by a senior government manager, fuelling union fears that pressure for an "inspection-lite" approach is gathering momentum.

Paul Millar, head of the Department of Trade and Industry's retail enforcement pilot scheme, told the Charter Institute for Environmental Health conference in September that a "traffic light" system will be introduced, in which "excellent" businesses demonstrating high standards would not be inspected. Frequent inspections will be restricted to "poor" businesses.

The retail enforcement pilot, running initially in Bexley and Warwickshire, is a "partnership with businesses and local and national enforcement agencies" to test a range of measures aimed at reducing levels of red tape.

Millar's comments follow the Hampton report on regulation, commissioned by Gordon Brown (see Labour Research, January 2005).