Health and Safety Review Tackles Red Tape, Compensation Culture and Media Myths

Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Health and Safety Law and Practice, has now published his report ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’, examining the country’s perceived compensation culture and the impact of health and safety regulations on businesses and personal freedom. Lord Young was asked by the Prime Minister in June to undertake a review of Health and Safety in the UK. The finished report puts forward a series of policies for improving the perception of health and safety in the wake of manipulative and misleading reports in the media, while also attempting to reduce the burden on small businesses. The review addresses the ‘no win, no fee’ compensation culture and the way personal injury claims are handled. Lord Young of Graffham said, ‘For too long, health and safety has been allowed to become a joke in the media and among the public. It’s about time it was taken seriously. I believe that the best way to do this is to ease the burden in places where health and safety is not an issue, and to discourage the compensation culture that has spread fear of litigation throughout our society.” The recommendations include: Health and safety legislation
 – The current raft of health and safety regulations should be consolidated into a single set of accessible regulations. Raising standards
 – Professionalise health and safety consultants with a qualification requirement that all consultants should be accredited to professional bodies. 
 – Establish a web-based directory of accredited health and safety consultants. Insurance
 – Where health and safety consultants are employed to carry out full health and safety risk assessments, only qualified consultants who are included on the web based directory should be used.
 – There should be consultation with the insurance industry to ensure that worthwhile activities are not unnecessarily curtailed on health and safety grounds. Insurance companies should draw up a code of practice on health and safety for businesses and the voluntary sector. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)
 – Amend RIDDOR, through which businesses record workplace accidents and send returns to a centralised body, by extending to seven days the period before an injury or accident needs to be reported.
 – The HSE should also re-examine the operation of the RIDDOR to determine whether this is the best approach to providing an accurate national picture of workplace accidents. Compensation culture
 – Introduce a simplified claims procedure for personal injury claims similar to that for road traffic accidents under £10,000 on a fixed costs basis.
 – Introduce the recommendations in Lord Justice Jackson’s review of civil litigation costs.
 – Restrict the operation of referral agencies and personal injury lawyers and control the volume and type of advertising. Low hazard workplaces
 – Simplify the risk assessment procedure for low hazard workplaces such as offices, classrooms and shops. The HSE should create simpler interactive risk assessments for low hazard workplaces, and make them available on its website.
 – Exempt employers from risk assessments for employees working from home in a low hazard environment. The report also included recommendations relating to food safety inspections, adventure training, education and local authorities. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet have accepted all of the recommendations put forward by Lord Young, who will continue to work across departments to ensure his recommendations are carried through.