§ Mr. Henry BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what regulatory impact assessment his Department has made of the Health and Safety Executive's new code of conduct on stress at work; [121266]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the cost to business of compliance with the Health and Safety Executive's code of conduct to combat stress in (a) financial terms and (b) lost man hours. [121267]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Health and Safety Executive have not launched a new code of conduct on stress at work. On 16 June 2003, they published draft management standards on work related stress seeking feedback to inform their development. They are currently being piloted and the final standards will be published after consultation. The standards will be a voluntary yardstick by which employers can measure how well they are managing stress in the workplace. Information collected during the consultation phase will be used to inform development of the Regulatory Impact Assessment.