Key facts about HSE and its role

• Our mission is to prevent work-related death, injury and ill health
• To prevent death and injury, we help businesses understand how the laws to keep people safe at work affect them
• The majority of our staff are frontline
• We carry out cutting-edge science and research
• We are the authoritative source of statistics upon which workplace health and safety policy is founded

Our mission is to prevent work-related death, injury and ill health

• We are an independent prosecuting authority that takes action against those who put workers at risk of death, illness or injury. Last year we served 4,816 Improvement Notices and carried out 1,231 prosecutions for breaches of the law. Our success rate as a prosecutor is 91 per cent, which compares favourably to that of the Crown Prosecution Service.
• In the 35 years since HSE was set up, the number of people of killed at work has fallen by 82 per cent. In addition to prosecuting those who break the law, HSE works in an enabling role with employers, local authorities and trade unions to raise awareness of workplace dangers and provide advice and guidance to help make workplaces safer places.
• In the last decade, workplace fatality rates have continued to show a steady reduction and are down by 14 per cent. For injuries leading to more than three days off work, the reduction has been even sharper at 28 per cent. According to the most recent comparative data, Great Britain now has one of the best safety records in Europe, with the lowest fatal injury rate over a five-year period across the five largest countries in the EU.
• We work as co-regulators with our local authority partners to inspect, investigate and enforce.

To prevent death and injury, we help businesses understand how the laws to keep people safe at work affect them

Each year, we publish around 64 publications the bulk of which are available for download free of charge from our website. Those which are not specialised are written in simple language and contain cost effective, practical advice on how workers can be protected and health and safety can be used to build better business.

• We advise on legislation around the protection of people at work but we also press hard to avoid needless burdens on business. HSE made a substantial contribution to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ regulatory Simplification Plan. This resulted in a saving to British businesses of £382m between 2005 and May 2009, in terms of the cost of compliance with health and safety law.
• We often challenge European legislation to ensure it is simple, workable and evens out competition for British businesses across Europe. Last year, HSE guided the translation and application of * European directives and regulations into English law. HSE provides assistance on these matters to parliamentary institutions such as the Lords European Union Committee. Our approach to European legislation is rationalising, not gold-plating.

The majority of our staff are frontline

They include highly-trained inspectors, skilled scientists and other specialist staff. We regulate sectors including; construction, agriculture, general manufacturing, engineering, food and drink, quarries and domestic gas safety.

• Specialist teams deal with hazardous industries: chemicals, gas, offshore, pipelines, mining, diving, explosives and biological agents. These are industries vital to the economy, but which, because of their nature, need independent oversight by experts. The price of failure is catastrophe – HSE does everything possible to prevent it happening.
• Where specialist skills and knowledge are required, we work with our local authority partners and are regularly called in where a serious incident has taken place.
• We also regulate and inspect all aspects of the civil, military and power generating nuclear industry to ensure compliance with safety standards and effective reporting of incidents.

We carry out cutting-edge science and research

Workplaces and industrial processes are constantly changing and we help design the response to these developments.

• The Health and Safety Laboratory is carrying out pioneering research on a range of key topics including – among other things – carbon capture and storage, control of hospital acquired infections, testing high-pressure hydrogen as an alternative fuel and helping employers to manage stress in their workforces.

We are the authoritative source of statistics upon which workplace health and safety policy is founded

• Each year we produce a compendium statistical publication which includes data on workplace deaths and injuries and our website provides extensive statistics and detailed data about health and safety outcomes.
• Our statisticians follow the Code of Practice for Official Statistics in the production and publication of our statistics. This ensures that our data are objective, impartial and free from political interference.