Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Simplification plan
Since the ABME in 2005, HSE’s baseline has been adjusted to take into account discrepancies in the data and the transfer of responsibility for health and safety regulations concerning railways to the Office of Rail Regulation1. In addition, following a merger with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority, administrative costs stemming from legislation in this area have also been added to HSE’s baseline2.
HSE’s revised baseline has been reduced from £2.032 billion to £2.022 billion. HSE’s target reduction of 25% now equates to £505 million from the revised baseline figure.
However, when meeting its reduction target, HSE is taking into account any new administrative costs imposed by new or amending legislation coming into force since May 2005. Any costs from these regulations are to be added to HSE’s reduction target, ensuring that HSE achieves a reduction that is net of new administrative burdens3. A list of these regulations is found at Annex 1.
The table below provides an update on estimated savings delivered by May and November 2008. All estimated savings are based on the ABME figures and have been rounded up or down. These figures may change following evaluation of some projects in the next year. The evaluations will aim to establish from business the level of reduction of unnecessary administrative burdens as a result of the initiatives.
| Simplification initiative | Estimated savings to May 2008 | Estimated savings to November 2008 | Target reduction by May 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ongoing initiatives | |||
| Sensible Risk Management | £182 million | £182 million | £200 million |
| Other risk assessment requirements4 | £18.4 million | £18.4 million | £18.4 million |
| Good practice guidance on worker involvement | £0 | £36.6 million | £36.6 million |
| Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations | £0 | £33 million | £33 million |
| Forms project | £250,000 | £250,000 | £21.25 million |
| Business on-line project | £0 | £637,000 | £10 million |
| Completed initiatives | |||
| Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 | £27.7 million | £27.7 million | £27.7 million |
| Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations | £17 million5 | £17 million | £17 million |
| RIDDOR project | £16.6 million | £16.6 million | £16.6 million |
| Off-shore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 | £3.8 million | £3.8 million | £3.8 million |
| Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 | £3.6 million | £3.6 million | £3.6 million |
| Removal of ACoP for Zoos | £544,000 | £544,000 | £544,000 |
| Totals | £270 million | £341 million | |
Up to and including May 2008, HSE reduced administrative burdens by an estimated £270 million, equating to 53.4% of the reduction target, and by November has achieved an estimated £341 million reduction, 67.5% of the target.
Many of HSE’s initiatives involve embedding a culture change within businesses, rather than regulatory changes, for example the Sensible Risk Management campaign and the guidance on labelling the weight of loads. Businesses may not notice the impact of these initiatives immediately, and HSE will continue to work on disseminating and communicating the sensible, proportionate messages on complying with heath and safety requirements that these initiatives contain.
HSE will carry out evaluations of many of these initiatives over the next year, following a period of at least 6 months after their launch to ensure businesses have time to become aware and embed the change. The evaluations will follow a similar approach to the original ABME exercise, and will ask businesses, including small and medium sized businesses, how much time or money they think they have saved as a result of the initiatives. The results of the evaluations will be used to determine whether HSE has delivered the projected savings.
The graph below shows a trajectory of HSE’s projected savings, with increases at the beginning of the timeline due to new administrative burdens imposed by new or amending legislation introduced at that time. In the last year HSE has not introduced any legislation that has added administrative burdens on businesses, and it is not anticipated at this stage that significant burdens will be introduced during the lifetime of the administrative burden reduction programme.
The red line in the graph shows the target figure following HSE’s 25% reduction in administrative burdens. At this stage, HSE is on course to reach this target. Savings may increase or decrease in light of the evaluations outlined above.