Number of health and safety inspectors down


Workers’ lives are being placed at risk due to the cut in the number of frontline health and safety inspectors. 


Figures obtained by the Unite general union, via a Freedom of Information request, reveal that since 2010 there has been a 25% reduction in the number of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors. In 2010, there were 1,311 frontline inspectors but by 31 December 2016 that number had reduced to just 980.


The HSE has been in the frontline of the Conservative’s obsession with cutting so-called "red tape". The organisation will see its funding cut by the end of this parliament to nearly half (a 46% reduction) of what it was in 2010, and a series of safety laws have also been scrapped. 


Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail, said: “HSE inspectors play a vital role in keeping workers safe. Rogue bosses who are prepared to break safety laws, are only kept in check by the fear of being caught and punished. Fewer inspectors mean more bosses willing to risk workers’ lives to boost profits.” 


The cuts to the HSE and safety laws, have made the role of independent union safety reps increasingly vital in ensuring workers are safe at work. Despite this crucial role, the Conservatives have sought to curtail the role and ability of safety reps to undertake their health and safety duties effectively.


www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-reveal-shock-25-per-cent-cut-in-health-and-safety-inspectors