Strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond

Described as a radical new strategy, it is designed to promote the HSC’s vision of achieving a record of workplace health and safety that leads the world, and is aimed at improving future standards of workplace health and safety.

Drawing on the last 30 years of experience and following consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, as well as a literature review of available evidence on the effectiveness of health and safety interventions, the strategy sets out a new direction for the UK’s health and safety system and outlines the evolving roles of HSC/E and Local Authorities (LAs).

As a start, the HSC will review the governance arrangements for HSC/E and relations with LAs to ensure they remain relevant to the needs of the developing strategy. HSE and LAs will target resources on those areas of greatest need and be less active where risks are well managed, when the emphasis will be on the provision of support and advice.

Key drivers for change

Whilst the UK’s health and safety record is creditable, there is a perception that there is no coherent direction to the overall health and safety system, and that more needs to be done.

40 million working days were lost to occupational injury and ill health in 2001/02. 33 million were attributable to ill health. However, HSE and LA resources are limited and need to be targeted to where they can have the most impact.

Strategic themes

The key features of the strategy are:

 develop closer partnerships to improve contribution to employment and productivity, education, health and rehabilitation and public service reform. This partnership will be expressed in a high level document endorsed by LA political leaders, HSC and HSE
 helping people to benefit from effective health and safety management and a sensible health and safety culture by promoting greater involvement of workers - the strategy recognises the people best placed to influence change in the workplace. HSE and LA inspectors will continue to offer advice as part of their duties as this is generally welcomed by employers
 focussing on the right interventions as a means of reducing workplace injury and ill health whilst continuing to enforce where appropriate. Thus where proper management of risks can be assured, HSE and LA inspectors will not intervene proactively. The strategy will thus focus on new ways of securing compliance voluntarily
 communicating the vision where risk is properly appreciated, understood and managed. A mature, open, transparent and inclusive two-way communication with stakeholders will thus be developed

Early deliverables

The HSE implementation programme and plan to ensure that the strategy is driven forward is expressed in terms of "early deliverables":

 a statement on worker involvement in March 2004
 proposals for occupational health and safety support based on models currently being piloted by Spring 2004
 high-level strategic programme plans by May 2004
 a high-level partnership agreement between HSE and LAs by July 2004
 proposals for accessible channels of advice and guidance free from the perceived fear of enforcement by September 2004
 the collection of further evidence to demonstrate the business case for health and safety and its publication, with case studies, on a new website in Summer 2004
 an indication of those well-understood and managed areas where HSE will not be proactive: proposals for consultation by August 2004
 consultation on HSE’s role regarding public safety issues by the end of 2004.

Long term vision

HSC’s long term vision is one where the contribution of health and safety management to society is better understood, the ’Revitalising’ targets have been met and a culture of continuous improvement is more widespread. Risk assessment, and employee involvement will be the norm and the regulators are no longer the principal drivers for improvement.

Review

HSC will oversee the implementation of the strategy through an implementation programme, and periodically review the strategy package and develop policies to ensure they remain consistent with future challenges.

The Commission will debate with others on how the system might be strengthened and, where there are gaps and limitations, how they might be filled.

The Commission will detail the success of the proposals in next year’s Annual Report.

Copies of the strategy are available from the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/strategy.htm