Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Simplification plan
In identifying the new initiatives for the 2007 plan, we applied the same criteria we used in identifying initiatives for the 2006 plan. The additional key initiatives are:
| Initiative title | Summary description |
|---|---|
| Construction | Work with CLG to consider the opportunities for moving towards integrating the planning, building control and CDM regimes to consider how best to join up the building control systems. |
| The health and safety policy document | Review of the overlaps and possible duplication in the requirement for a written policy and to keep a written record of health and safety arrangements |
| Manual Handling Regulations | Clarify the requirement to make sure workers know the weight of loads, to reduce unnecessary/duplicate labelling. |
| The requirement to label drinking water | New/revised guidance to clarify the need to label where a water supply is not for drinking, not to label all drinking water. |
Alongside the success of CDM ‘07, HSE has been working with the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to consider the potential for moving towards better integration of the planning, building control and CDM regimes. CLG is currently carrying out two reviews, to which HSE is contributing, on:
On consideration of the outcomes of these reviews, CLG will be consulting on changes to the regimes and will work closely with HSE to include questions on how best to join up the information requests from regulators to those involved in construction work. Results of this consultation will feed into the development of the project.
In addition to the above, HSE is reviewing and revising its construction project notification system. Following this, it will be possible to consider the potential for aligning this notification system with the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) planning portal.
Planning and building control are devolved matters in Scotland, where the respective national policy leads are the Scottish Government (SG) and the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA). HSE has been in contact with these bodies about opportunities for joint working. SE has indicated that it will involve HSE in its comprehensive review of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, to identify opportunities for closer links between planning and health and safety.
The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers of five or more employees to have a health and safety policy document in their workplace. This pre-dates the additional duty in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, to have a written record of health and safety arrangements.
The high cost of the written policy statement in the administrative burden exercise (£53 million) suggests that there may be unnecessary duplication or confusion about the requirements by businesses.
HSE has started a project to look at what can be done to simplify in practice the requirement for a written policy statement and health and safety arrangements to clarify what businesses should do, thus removing duplications of paperwork.
HSE is looking at what businesses need to know and what information they should be providing to employees to ensure loads are moved safely without imposing unnecessary or disproportionate costs on businesses. Appropriate, simple web-based guidance could then be produced. Wherever relevant the initiative will link with the SRM project and HSE’s Moving Goods Safely programme to maximise its reach.
The project’s aim is to reduce duplication of labelling and business time taken to comply. To this end there will be both internal and external consultation on the new guidance and, after it has been in place for a period of time, there will be an evaluation to check that any confusion or over-compliance has been eliminated.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require the labelling of water where necessary for reasons of health and safety. The high cost of the labelling requirement in the ABME (£33.7m) suggests that this requirement has been interpreted as the need to label all drinking water regardless of the risk. HSE has revised its guidance to clarify the need to label only where a water supply is not fit for drinking, not to label all drinking water. To support this work HSE intends to publicise the clarification through a ‘myth of the month’ on signs and labels in the new year.