CD219 - Removing forms and record keeping requirements

This consultation ended on 14 November 2008

• What this change means
• Summary of consultation results and outcome

This consultation covers proposals to remove several legislative form filling requirements that apply to most businesses operating from a factory, office or shop in Great Britain.

We are considering two areas:

• Premises notification - employers are currently required to fill out a form to notify HSE or their local authority of any factory, office or shop premises, and certain railway premises, where employees work.
• The general register - factory employers are required to keep a set of records and forms called the general register.

We are proposing to abolish the requirements because:

• the premises notification requirement is redundant - HSE obtains information on factory premises using a range of more reliable and efficient information sources and strategies, as do many local authorities on offices and shops; and
• it seems clear the general register is obsolete – modern legislation has overtaken the original purpose of this requirement.

To achieve this we would repeal the notification and general register requirements of the Factories Act 1961 and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963.

We are confident that this proposal would result in no loss of current health and safety protection.

We are allowing 14 weeks for this consultation, rather than the usual 12, to compensate for the summer holiday period.

• View the consultation document for these proposals [PDF 195KB]
• Respond to the consultation using the online questionnaire or download a form to complete
  

Responses should be sent to:

Peter McKerrow
Legislative Framework Team
Cross Cutting Interventions Division
Health and Safety Executive
5NW Rose Court
2 Southwark Bridge
London SE1 9HS

To arrive no later than 14 November 2008.