HSE Rail chief to lead HM Railway Inspectorate into ORR

HSE Press Release:E171:04 - 13 December 2004

Dr Allan Sefton, head of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI), is remaining in post until HMRI’s forthcoming merger with the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). This extension to Dr Sefton’s contract beyond his planned retirement date of 14 April 2005 has been agreed by both HSE Director General Timothy Walker and ORR Chairman Chris Bolt.

Dr Sefton said:

“I am very happy to stay on in HSE until the HMRI merger with the ORR. HSE is committed to ensuring that rail health, safety and welfare standards are maintained throughout the transition period and to manage the change process effectively. HMRI is currently implementing a major internal reorganisation to improve its own effectiveness, and to discharge its changing statutory functions with greater consistency and timeliness. These new arrangements will be in place from April. My aim is to lead into ORR a re-invigorated inspectorate that is adding real value to the industry’s continuing efforts to improve its management of risk and deliver a reliable and therefore safe railway.”

Notes to editors

1. Dr Allan Sefton joined the then Factory Inspectorate in 1969. He has worked in a series of senior posts in HSE including Head of HSE’s Offshore Safety Division, and serving as HSE Director for Scotland. Dr Sefton has headed HMRI since October 2003.

2. The Railway Inspectorate was transferred to HSE from the then Department of Transport in 1990; it took the title HM Railway Inspectorate on that transfer. HMRI comprises inspectors and other staff involved in promoting compliance with health and safety law and is located in HSE offices throughout Great Britain. The current reorganisation of HMRI – the Rail Delivery Programme – began midway through 2003 and is due for completion at the end of March 2005. It comprises two related strands of work: working in consultation with stakeholders to review and update health and safety law in the light of both the EU Rail Safety Directive and the recommendations made by Lord Cullen in his report on the Ladbroke Grove Public Inquiry; and reviewing HMRI’s internal structure to improve both the level and quality of interaction with its stakeholders.

3. On 19 January 2004 the Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling announced a review of the structure of Britain's railways, focusing on structural and organisational changes needed to improve rail performance, on cost control, and on the regulation of safety. The resultant white paper “The Future of rail” was published on 15 July 2004, setting out the outcomes from this review. With regard to the regulation of rail safety, the Secretary of State decided that the responsibility should transfer from the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and HSE to ORR. This will mean that HSE’s responsibilities for rail health and safety regulation will merge with the ORR, creating a new regulator for the rail industry. This requires primary legislation, and the date proposed for the merger to take effect is December 2005. See press release C032-04 15 July.

4. Information on rail safety, including statistics, HMRI’s annual reports on rail safety and incident reports, etc. can be found on the HSE rail website.

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