Health and Safety Executive

Societal risk

HSE, on behalf of a range of government departments, carried out a public consultation exercise in 2007 on the inclusion of ‘societal risk’ in risk assessments concerning on-shore, non-nuclear, major hazards (CD212).  As a consequence of this consultation, Ministers agreed in January 2008 that government policies should take into account societal risk and that HSE should undertake work to achieve this. 

HSE established two stakeholder groups to assist in examining methodologies, criteria and decision frameworks: 

  • Technical Advisory Group.  This is a small group comprising two academic members, two ‘industry’ members and one safety professional member, as well as representatives from other government departments.
  • Local Planning Authority Focus Group.  A number of senior planners sit on this group, representing many of those planning authorities potentially affected by any new policies.

From December 2008 HSE are undertaking trials in three local planning authority areas.  The purpose of the trials is to test methods, criteria and decision-making and clarify the roles of the planning departments and others, in order to develop a form for clearly expressing societal risk calculations.

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Updated: 22.06.11