Health and Safety Executive (Hansard, 16 December 1991)

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the normal retirement age for the post of director of the field operations division of the Health and Safety Executive; what is the age of the current occupant; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Forth
The normal retirement age for the post of director of field operations is 60. The present postholder is being retained in the post for a year beyond his normal retirement date, to June 1992, to assist in the implementation and consolidation of the major reform of the field organisation.

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish copies of(a) the spring 1991 review of the Health and Safety Executive and (b) the field operations division impact study 1991.

§ Mr. Forth
(a) The 1991 spring review was a series of meetings at which the Health and Safety Executive's senior management reviewed the performance of its divisions against plan in the 1990–91 financial year. A full account of HSE's performance is given in the Health and Safety Commission Executive annual report 1990–91, which was laid before the House on 12 December.
(b) the impact study is an internal review of the ways in which the HSE's field force could improve the impact of its work. The question of publication will be considered when the HSE and the Health and Safety Commission has considered its recommendations.

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many premises are registered with the field operations division of the Health and Safety Executive; how many were inspected thoroughly in 1990–91; what is the current backlog of inspections; and what proposals he has to clear the backlog.

§ Mr. Forth
On 28 September 1991 there were 653,397 fixed premises registered with the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division—FOD. Between 1 April 1990 and 31 March 1991, FOD inspectors made a total of 100,232 planned inspection visits to fixed premises.
At 31 March 1991, a total of 107,486 fixed premises in the field for inspection in the period 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 had not received a planned inspection visit in that year. The figure includes premises which have a low inspection rating based on inspectors' judgment of risks, site standards and management control, those which have been visited for purposes other than planned inspection and those for which records are held but may no longer exist.
A reduction in the number of premises in the field for inspection and not visited continues to be an aim of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive. As part of 2W this, FOD has carried forward and developed special inspection initiatives on a local or regional basis across a range of industries.
Between 1 July and 31 December 1991, FOD is carrying out a pilot exercise to assess the feasibility of employing visiting officers to identify establishments for inspection. Two of the objectives of the exercise are to eliminate redundant records from the factory inspectorate establishment database and to provide data on establishments that make up the backlog.
Additionally, a recent study carried out by FOD has addressed the question of improving the impact of the work of the field force, including the backlog of inspections. Recommendations from the survey are currently being considered by HSE.