Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Simplification plan
HSE is working to influence the drive towards better regulation in the EU. A large proportion of the administrative burden of health and safety legislation originates in Europe. It is therefore vital to see real change in EU regulatory development and this will require a central government lead to maintain momentum and progress. HSE will ensure that the importance of the better regulation agenda informs all its dealings with the EU.
HSE successfully defended one of the key elements of British health and safety law - the use of the key phrase “so far as is reasonably practicable” which helps to ensure that what is required of dutyholders is proportionate to the risks. The European Commission had claimed that UK health and safety legislation did not fully implement the European Framework Directive (Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work), because of the inclusion of this phrase. However the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found for the UK, dismissing the EC case.
HSE successfully negotiated to influence the Council resolution on the EU Occupational Health and Safety Strategy to 2012. This includes a call on the European Commission to improve and simplify the administrative and regulatory framework by taking into account the EC’s commitment to reduce administrative burdens by 25%. The Strategy has a clear focus on ensuring effective implementation of legislation, providing guidance on and evaluating existing legislation rather than proposing more legislation. There is recognition that small firms need particular support.
On the Electromagnetic Fields Directive, there were concerns in the UK about the impact of the Directive on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI scanners, particularly used in hospitals). HSE published research into this in June this year and, following this, the EC have also now commissioned complementary research, due by the end of 2007. The EC has also encouraged the International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) to review the limits underpinning the Directive, with the expectation that some are likely to be raised. In the meantime, the existing EMF working party, meeting under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health, has been exploring the difficulties of the Directive in detail, already feeding back to the Committee that the transposition deadline should be delayed and aiming to provide recommendations later in 2007. The Director General of Employment and Social Affairs has written to European Member States confirming that the above steps are being taken, with a commitment to take action including a possible postponement of the implementation date of the Directive.
HSE has been an active and influential participant in a project led by Germany to evaluate the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Directive as a way of developing a methodology for evaluating European Directives more widely. The final report, including the results of the UK evaluations, is due to be published in Autumn 2007.
HSE has introduced a ‘checkpoint’ system of meetings between the policy team responsible for the negotiation of each EU directive and HSE’s Better Regulation and International teams. These checkpoint meetings provide support to the negotiating team but also ensure that better regulation principles are considered at the earliest stages of the project. The meetings also provide a challenge function that can help to develop and test options for consideration in the creation of a directive.
We are continuing to carry out serious examinations of the flow of new directives or regulations from the EU in order to evaluate whether the legislation is in accordance with the Better Regulation agenda, without a loss to any health and safety outcomes. In this way we are succeeding in toning down directives – avoiding unnecessary burdens ever reaching legislation.