Enforcement activity is one of the means we employ to ensure we meet:
Enforcement covers all activity associated with preparing and taking criminal prosecution and the preparation, issue and monitoring of enforcement notices, and includes work associated with attending employment tribunals and liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service or Procurator Fiscal.
We conduct our enforcement activity in accordance with HSE's Enforcement Management Policy, following the procedural guidance contained in HSE's Enforcement Guides and considering the merits of each case in the context of the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the HSE Enforcement Policy Statement and the criminal law.
HID's Enforcement Management Arrangements can be found in the: HID Major Incident Response and Investigation Model.
This activity is reactive and resource put to it can vary year on year, however, approximately 6% of HID's total resource is normally put to enforcement.
HID recovers from some COMAH enforcement, GSMR enforcement and offshore enforcement, bringing in approximately 315,000pa.
HSE must uphold (in partnership where appropriate) Health and Safety legislation, both to satisfy legislative imperatives and to provide assurance to our stakeholders and the public that breaches of legislation will be addressed consistently, thoroughly and proportionately.
Major Hazard Risks.
HSC/E strategy is not to pursue enforcement activity unless we are clear that it is appropriate, proportionate and that we are best placed to deliver the most satisfactory outcome. Our processes and procedures support this line.
We would lose political, stakeholder and public confidence and respect if we did not pursue cases that were obvious candidates for enforcement action.
We assume:
Approximately 37 staff years are directed to Enforcement at an estimated cost of 1,850,174 (1,653,870 staff costs and 196,304 GAE).
Funded from HID resources. Prosecution costs are agreed by the courts and recovered by HSE.
Our strategy is to engage openly and consistently with our stakeholders to try to ensure that the need for prosecution is minimised. Once the decision to prosecute is taken, the process is examined and subject to stringent approval procedures. We engage with those against whom we take enforcement action, in a manner that is consistent with legal proscriptions, and in ensuring that the basis for our actions is clearly described and understood. Witnesses, victims of health and safety breaches and their families are fully and sensitively involved in the enforcement process, and we publicise our actions where we believe a health and safety need will be serviced by such actions. Any joint enforcement action we take is a fully open and collaborative effort between ourselves, and our partners in that action. In determining and maintaining an enforcement methodology we have and will continue to consult stakeholders.
This work is reactive so there are no targets (although we expect the numbers of notices and prosecutions to remain around a certain level). A reduction in our enforcement activity suggests an increase in awareness of the control of health and safety risks. Successful prosecutions result in changes and improvements to health and safety procedures which mitigate risks.
The programme detail is put together from HID's OG Core operating plan - resources are allocated to it at Unit level.
HID is responsible for delivering this contribution to HSE's Major Hazard Strategic Programme. There is no single programme manager within HID. Heads of Division (primarily OSD, SID and CID - also CD for elements of business and technical support work) are responsible for delivery of their contributions to the HID programme.
The Major Hazards Programme is dependant upon our enforcement activity, by ensuring we have compliance with the relevant Regulations. Our enforcement regime is open to internal and external critical review, has been closely examined during the development of models such as the EMM, and will continue under close scrutiny while initiatives such as the Prosecutions Pilot Study (PPS) continue.
Independent reports (e.g. Greenstreet Berman) conclude that proactive inspection, supported by enforcement, is an effective tool in meeting our Health and Safety objectives.