HC Deb 11 January 1994 vol 235 cc105-8W
Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Executive will amend its publication "Safety Representatives and Safety all those who are neither in employment (including those on Government employment and training programmes and unpaid family workers), nor unemployed on the ILO definition.

Committees" (ISBN 0118839594) to include references to the new regulation 4A(1), which was enacted by regulation 17 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations on 31 December 1992.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The Health and Safety Executive proposes to take forward work on this publication in 1994–95 following publication of an open learning package for safety representatives and taking account of recent research.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has for altering charges to industry for the services provided by the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The Health and Safety Commission has under review the scope for introducing new charges for the performance by the Health and Safety Executive of statutory functions and the provision of facilities and services. Existing charges are reviewed annually.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the Health and Safety Commission will publish the findings of its review of regulations prior to publishing proposals for the reform of the regulatory system for health and safety at work based upon the review.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The Health and Safety Commission will be submitting to Ministers the findings of its review of regulation in April 1994. If the Government decide, in the light of these findings, to put forward proposals for changes in health and safety legislation, these will of course be subject to consultation.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action the Health and Safety Executive has taken in response to the view recently expressed in paragraph 46 of the efficiency scrutiny report commissioned by the President of the Board of Trade "Review of the Implementation and Enforcement of EC law in the UK: Health and Safety" on guidance for all sizes of business on what is required to undertake risk assessment; and what action has been taken to comply with the recommendation that the HSE considers issuing a basic pro forma which businesses could use or adapt.

Mr. Forsyth

The Health and Safety Executive is to publish, next month, a leaflet which will meet the efficiency scrutiny recommendations. The leaflet will provide guidance on how to assess risks in the workplace and what should be recorded. It will incorporate a pro forma with blank spaces, which employers can use to record their assessments.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters complaining about the burden of health and safety legislation he received in the 12 months prior to requesting the Health and Safety Commission to commence its review of health and safety regulations.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

In the 12 months preceding my request to the Health and Safety Commission to undertake a review of existing regulation, the Department received over 750 letters about health and safety.

Many of these raised issue about the interpretation, contents enforcement of health and safety regulations, and identified what the writer considered a burden on his or her business. However, it is not possible without disproportionate cost to separately identify the letters which raised these issues specifically.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans the Health and Safety Executive has to publish a second edition of its publication "100 Practical Applications of Noise Reduction Methods".

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The Health and Safety Executive is currently preparing a new edition of this publication which it hopes to publish in the summer of 1994.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many Health and Safety Executive staff-years have been expended on the review of regulations; and what has been the effect of the other activities of the HSE of servicing the review.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

It is estimated that 3.5 staff years will be expended by the Health and Safety Executive's review team on the review of regulation. Additional resources for the review were built into the Health and Safety Commission's plan of work for 1993–94 and beyond as part of its medium term aim to propose reform of existing legislation under the 1974 Act.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what activities currently carried out by the Health and Safety Commission and Executive will be curtailed as a result of the reduction in its grant-in-aid provision in 1995–96 and 1996–97.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Information about financial provision for the Health and Safety Executive will be published in the departmental report. The Health and Safety Commission's planned future activities will be set out in its plan of work for 1994–95 and beyond which is scheduled for publication in June.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Executive guidance on the electricity at work regulations for hotels will be published.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

At the end of January 1994.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the members of the sector task groups appointed by the Health and Safety Commission to assist in its review of regulations will be fully consulted over the contents of the commission's final report prior to it being submitted to the Secretary of State.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

This is a matter for the Health and Safety Commission. It appointed the task group members to assist it under section 13 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. I am informed that the groups are making an invaluable contribution to the Commission's review and I would expect that to be reflected in both the preparation and content of the Commission's final report.

Mr. Barron

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what response he has made to the view expressed by the Health and Safety Executive director-general in the foreword to the HSE annual report that Government policy has created imperatives, like the review of regulations, which have impinged upon the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Reform of health and safety law has been central to the achievement of a better health and safety system since the passing of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 some 20 years ago. The Health and Safety Commission's review of regulation has given fresh impetus to this work, but is fully consistent with the roles and duties of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive already laid down in the 1974 Act.