Summary of the Lofstedt Report

Health & Safety update 30/11/2011

In March 2011, Professor Ragnar E Lofstedt was asked to review health and safety legislation, with a view to reducing the burden on business, whilst maintaining the progress that has been made in health and safety outcomes. As a result of this 6 month review, Professor Lofstedt has released a 110 page report summarising his findings. Below is a brief summary of his recommendations to Government, recommendations he would like to see delivered by April 2015, but with earlier target dates for some.

The report itself is unlikely to have any impact on Mentor but as the various recommendations are implemented over the forthcoming months, we will ensure that our systems and client information is updated accordingly.

Following a detailed review of health and safety legislation that has been taking place over the last 6 months, Professor Ragnar E Lofstedt has released a report making a number of recommendations to the Government. The government plans on launching a consultation on the perceived 'large numbers' of health and safety rules. There are currently about 200 health and safety regulations, but this should be reduced by more than half over the next three years. Excessive health and safety has been blamed for the banning of low-risk activities, such as royal wedding street parties, and the cancellations of school trips. However, Professor Lofstedt concludes that the problem 'lies less with the regulations themselves and more with the way they are interpreted and applied'.

Key Recommendations

Exempting from health and safety law those self-employed whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others.
That HSE should review all its ACoPs (Approved Codes of Practice) The initial phase of the review should be completed by June 2012 so businesses have certainty about what is planned and when changes can be anticipated.
That HSE undertakes a programme of sector-specific consolidations to be completed by April 2015.
That legislation is changed to give HSE the authority to direct all local authority health and safety inspection and enforcement activity, in order to ensure that it is consistent and targeted towards the most risky workplaces.
That the original intention of the pre-action protocol standard disclosure list is clarified and restated. (The original aims of the pre-action protocols were to build on and increase the benefits of early but well informed settlement of personal injury claims which genuinely satisfy both parties) And that regulatory provisions that impose strict liability should be reviewed by June 2012 and either qualified with 'reasonably practicable' where strict liability is not absolutely necessary or amended to prevent civil liability from attaching to a breach of those provisions.

Professor Lofstedt makes a number of other recommendations including the scrapping of a number of pieces health and safety legislation which appear to result in un-necessary cost whilst providing little benefit. Legislation such as the Notification of Tower Cranes Regulations 2010, the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes (Amendment) Regulations 2010, the Celluloid and Cinematographic Film Act 1922 (Exemptions) Regulations 1980 and the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989. He also recommends that a number of pieces of legislation are amended, clarified or reviewed such as;

The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981,
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007,
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995,
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and
The Work at Height Regulations 2005

He also makes the recommendation that the UK Government should work more closely with the European Union to ensure that health and safety legislation is risk and evidence based and that all proposed Directives and regulations that have a perceived cost to society of more than 100 million Euros should go through an automatic regulatory impact assessment.

Judith Hackitt, the Chair of HSE, said: "Professor Löfstedt's insightful report will go a long way to refocusing health and safety in Great Britain on those things that matter - supporting those who want to do the right thing and reducing rates of work-related death, injury and ill health. We must have a system of health and safety which enables employers to make sensible and proportionate decisions about managing genuine workplace risks. Simplifying and streamlining the stock of regulations, focusing enforcement on higher risk businesses, clarifying requirements, and rebalancing the civil litigation system - these are all practical, positive steps. Poor regulation - that which adds unnecessary bureaucracy with no real benefits - drives out confidence in good regulation. We welcome these reforms because they are good for workers and employers but also for the significant contribution they will make to restoring the rightful reputation of real health and safety."

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