Health and safety reform on Tory conference agenda

Details are emerging of an impending review by the coalition government on health and safety laws that business leaders have blamed for placing a burden on British companies and public services.

At the Tory party conference next month, Lord Young - Margaret Thatcher’s former trade secretary – is expected to unveil his report on health and safety reforms that is thought to contain 40 recommendations for swift change.

Among the recommendations will be the cutting of the red tape that sees even 'low risk' work places like offices subjected to the same stringent health and safety demands as far riskier working environments, such as factories.

One government official said Prime Minister David Cameron was convinced that the system is in need of drastic reform. "The PM thinks the current health and safety rules are mad," he said. "What we are determined to see is a great extension of personal freedom, at the same time as a rolling back both of the state and the power of the courts."

It is believed that Mr Cameron is keen to abolish regulations that have been seen to create a culture in which someone must be found to be at fault for every accident or mishap. The report is said to contain revised guidelines on how personal injury lawyers can operate, imposing restrictions on advertising and the fees they can charge.