HSE to take tougher line on prosecutions

Audit uncovers prosecutions that might have been made, but went unpunished.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has vowed to show its teeth more after admitting it has been under-prosecuting in the past.

The admission was made last week at the Health & Safety Commission’s launch of its 2005/06 national statistics on workplace fatalities, injuries and occupational health. It follows a recent audit into 126 cases, carried out by the HSE, which uncovered a number of cases that might have been pursued as a prosecution.

The audit was carried out in response to a sliding number of prosecutions and convictions and involved cases in construction. The exact number has not been revealed by the department.

HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger told CJ: “There are clear guidelines on how prosecutions can be brought about and there needs to be a greater consistency of justice. This doesn’t mean we will be starting a campaign for prosecutions, but there needs to be a greater balance.”

The admission will add extra weight to industry concerns that the HSE is being hampered by resource issues given its flat cash settlement from the Department for Work and Pensions, which did not take into account inflation. This has meant that up to 350 jobs are at risk at the department – £4.3m in savings also need to be made by cutting budgets on research projects and campaigns.

The HSE said the exact impact on the construction unit was unknown as budgets for the next financial year had not yet been allocated.

But one official told CJ: “The construction unit is almost certainly going to be affected by these cuts. We are waiting to see just how bad it will be when the cuts are announced in April for the next financial year.”

Podger denied that resources were an issue. “It’s not just about enforcement in the construction industry, it is also about working in partnership with key stakeholders in the industry,” he said.

On a positive note, the construction industry is showing an improvement on self-reported work-related illnesses, which dropped to 3,800 per 100,000 workers in 2005/06, compared with 3,900 in 2004/05 and 4,400 in 2003/04.

Rates of reportable non-fatal injuries to workers were also down to 1,790 per 100,000 workers between 2003/04 to 2005/06 from 2,090 in 2000/01 to 2002/03.

[Contract Journal, 8 November 2006, p 3]