§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what level of resources will be provided to the Health and Safety Commission over the next three years. [63088]
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§ Mr. MeacherI am pleased to be able to announce today a new financial package for the health and Safety Commission. Extra Government funding of £20 million over the next three years, together with changes in its charging regime, will enable the HSC to increase its running costs by £12.9 million in 1999–00, £22.8 million in 2000–01 and £27.0 million in 2001–02 over and above the baseline for the current financial year. This settlement signals our strong commitment to achieving further improvements in health and safety standards in the workplace. We will be agreeing a Plan of Work with the Commission which will ensure that these additional resources deliver real and tangible benefit.
This excellent settlement for health and safety is dependent in part on an extension to the Commission's existing charging regime. I have asked the Commission to introduce charges in statutory permissioning regimes for assessing safety cases, granting approvals and regulatory activities to ensure compliance with the safety case in the gas, offshore and railway industries, and the functions placed upon the GB competent authorities under the BU Directive for Control of Major Accident Hazards in onshore installations. The Government do not intend that charging should extend beyond regimes of this kind. I believe it is right that these industries, which depend so heavily on safe operation, should pay for these activities and that the resultant income should be reinvested to secure further improvement in health and safety standards.