§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what evidence there is for the assertion that health and safety consultants are promoting bogus goods and services, in paragraph 44 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"; and what action he proposes to take to prevent this practice in future.
§ Mr. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 11 January 1994]: Consultants may have a role to play where companies are unable to cope from within their existing resources. I have received, however, a number of letters from individuals and organisations indicating that some consultants, for their own commercial reasons, may have misled companies about the complexity of regulations or their requirements. In many such cases, companies could have carried out the work themselves or sought free advice from the HSE or other enforcement agents. Where HSE becomes aware of consultants making misleading claims, it has been raising the matter directly with those concerned.
§ Mr. FatchettTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many letters complaining about the burden of health and safety legislation he received between 1 June and 31 December 1992;
(2) what evidence his Department had prior to setting up the deregulation task forces that health and safety legislation constituted an unnecessary burden on business.
§ Mr. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 11 January I 994]: Actual figures are not readily available. But I can confirm that my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I received a significant number of representations between July and December 1992, prior to the creation of the task forces. These were from various organisations and individuals complaining about the burdens of specific areas of health and safety legislation on business. Such complaints have increased considerably in recent months.
It is not the Government view that all health and safety legislation constitutes an unnecessary burden on business. The current review of legislation is concerned with examining whether scope exists for improving the efficiency of the existing regulatory regime without impairing necessary safety standards.