More top firms report on safety

HSC press release - C031:03 - 16 July 2003

Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Chair Bill Callaghan has today welcomed the results of two surveys which show a significant increase in the number of companies that report publicly on their health and safety performance and an small increase in the number of companies where health and safety is directed at board level. The HSC is now calling on companies, workers, the public and other stakeholders to give them their views, before deciding on the next steps.

The reports measure the success that HSC has had in promoting corporate responsibility and accountability for the management of health and safety. This goal forms a key part of the Government and HSC Revitalising Health and Safety strategy which challenged the UK's top 350 FTSE companies and public bodies to publicly report their health and safety performance in their annual reports and recommended that every board should appoint one of their number to be a 'health and safety' director and not to delegate the role. The research concludes that the 'Challenge' has already had a positive and encouraging effect.

Bill Callaghan has said, "I am pleased to see the level of reporting of health and safety is going up, but simply mentioning health and safety is not enough, and now we need to encourage improvements in the quality of reporting. There is also a strong case to extend the Challenge to medium sized businesses."

"It's good to see companies responding to our challenge and we will continue pursuing this cause. It's not just about how you, your company and your employees stand to benefit from a reduced likelihood of being injured or killed at work; I believe you also stand to enhance your company's reputation and its value."

"I'm encouraged to see that most FTSE 350 companies and other large firms are taking health and safety seriously enough to allocate responsibility to board level directors. But there is room for significant improvement. I want to see all companies regularly review health and safety issues at board level, and that includes smaller companies as well."

"The public sector must also play its part and these reports suggest that many parts of the public sector are lagging behind best practice."

"The HSC will consider these reports and discuss proposals for the way forward in October. We welcome this research going into the public domain now, as it gives HSC the opportunity to consider the views of stakeholders on the way forward. I want everyone involved at work to let us have their views."

"HSC has produced guidance to help directors and their companies understand what we are looking for them to do. I'd also like to invite comments on how useful this guidance is and what more it might say."

"I'd like to congratulate those companies who have shown a commitment to reporting their performance, especially United Utilities, the Boots Company, Carillion, Rio Tinto and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and I hope that other companies will now follow their lead. In particular the other companies might well find it helpful to look how the way they report on their performance and targets"

Public reporting

The survey covered all FTSE 100 companies and approximately 180 large companies mainly drawn from the FTSE 350, and a sample of public bodies including government departments, local authorities and NHS trusts.

Among the main findings was a significant increase in the number of FTSE 100 companies publicly reporting - from 47% in 1995, to 56% in 2000, and now 91% in 2002. The overall figure for the companies surveyed in 2002 is 78%. The strongest sectors on reporting include; chemicals, construction and building materials, mining, oil and gas, tobacco and water.

Other bodies, like ROSPA, have also done much to encourage businesses to report publicly on their performance in managing risks to occupational health and safety. ROSPA's report Going Public on Performance: http://www.gopop.org.uk endorses the Government and HSC's strategy and supports the case for public web-based reporting.

Company directors' and boards' involvement

The survey covered a sample of 400 organisations drawn from top 350 FTSE companies, other large companies, the public sector and voluntary sector. The results showed companies where health and safety is directed at board level has risen from 58% to 66%. The main reasons cited for board level direction are best practice and that power and control is at board level.

The main benefits given for appointing board level health and safety directors were that it shows strong leadership, demonstrates commitment and helps improve health and safety performance.

Notes to editors

1. The research Health and safety responsibilities of company directors and management board members (RR 135) was undertaken by Greenstreet Berman Ltd. The research The provision of health and safety information in the annual reports, websites and other publicly available documents produced by the UK's top companies and a sample of government departments, agencies, local authorities and NHS trusts (RR 134) was undertaken by Systems Concepts. Both pieces of research were commissioned by HSE.
2. To measure the extent to which companies and bodies reported, 11 key health and safety issues were considered:
   • Principles
     • the broad context of the health and safety policy
     • significant risks faced by employees and the strategies in place to control the risks
     • health and safety goals
     • progress towards achieving health and safety goals
     • arrangements for consulting employees.
   • Performance
     • the number of RIDDOR injuries, illnesses an dangerous occurrences
     • details of any fatalities and preventative actions taken
     • then number of employee days lost (lost time injuries)
     • the number of health and safety enforcement notices
     • the number and nature of convictions for health and safety offences.
   • Targets
     • progress towards specific health and safety plans and objectives.
3. The Revitalising Health and Safety strategy was launched by the Government and HSC in 2000. Its aims include:
   • injecting new impetus into the health and safety agenda, and
   • identifying new approaches to reduce rates of accidents and ill health caused by work
4. HSC has published two pieces of guidance related to these pieces of research: Health and Safety in Annual Reports and Directors responsibilities for health and safety (both published in 2001).
5. For the 'Directors' survey, the numbers of organisations surveyed were:
   
   

   	Baseline survey	Follow up survey
   Top 350 of the FTSE	39	29
   Large firms	228	243
   Large public sector	108	133
   Large voluntary sector	28	31

6. All companies taking part in the annual report survey, and their individual results are listed in appendix 1 of the report, and the individual quality scores are given in appendix 3.

Health and safety responsibilities of company directors and management and board members, (RR 135) and The provision of health and safety information in the annual reports, websites and other publicly available documents produced by the UK's top companies and a sample of government departments, agencies, local authorities and NHS Trusts are available on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/index.htm

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office