The Competent Authority comprises three organisations: the Health Safety Executive (HSE), the Environment Agency (EA - for England and Wales) and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). These three organisations are responsible for the enforcement of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations.
Changing the way that the Competent Authority is managed was an important step. The Competent Authority Strategic Management Group (CASMG) will meet quarterly, setting a strategic direction and plan of work for the CA as a whole. Importantly CASMG will be responsible for reporting back publicly on progress both in the UK and to the European Union.
Director Hazardous Installations Directorate
HSE
Director of Operations
Environment Agency
Head Protection - Improvement
SEPA
Well, firstly – to improve the strategic direction of the Competent Authority we have changed the way we capture and use information about what is happening on the ground. This will not only inform any new and emerging priorities we may set in the future; but also deliver better performance monitoring, enabling the Strategic Management Group to look across the CA’s activities and set priorities, offer clear guidance on priority topics and monitor progress against these national priorities.
The changes will also enable us to underpin public assurance by providing a clear and transparent picture of the overall picture of safety performance for the major hazard sector as a whole.
Taken as a whole, the changes here will support decision making and the targeting of resources based on a new approach to risk ranking and performance rating arrangements – supporting our efforts to continue to focus on the areas of most concern and the poorest performers.
Public Register of COMAH Establishments
