Welcome for moves to cut red tape round health and safety

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said yesterday it wanted regulation to focus on "high hazard" sites and "tackling rogue employers and consultants", not "tying up the vast majority of Britain's businesses in unnecessary red tape."

Under the plans, employers with a good record will no longer face automatic health and safety inspections. Instead inspectors will concentrate their efforts on high-risk locations, such as major energy facilities, and on "rogue employers" who are putting the safety of their staff and the public at risk.

A new register of qualified health and safety consultants will be made available to businesses in an effort to weed out unqualified "cowboy" consultants, the DWP said.

The government is also launching a review of all existing health and safety law, chaired by a university professor, with a view to scrapping measures that are not needed and put an unnecessary burden on business.

Employment minister Chris Grayling said Britain's health and safety culture was "stifling business and holding back economic growth".

"The purpose of health and safety regulation is to protect people at work and rightly so," he said. "But we need common sense at the heart of the system, and these measures will help root out the needless burden of bureaucracy.

David Watt, executive director of the Institute of Directors in Scotland, said yesterday's announcement was "very welcome" news to businesses, who often had to employ staff just to deal with health and safety obligations.

He said the problem for businesses was the "form filling and reporting" and not the principle of protecting workers which was behind the legislation.

He said: "Anything other than a very small business ends up employing additional people just to deal with (health and safety bureaucracy], as opposed to everyone doing their own little bit, because it has become so specialised."

David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "A thorough review of health and safety rules can only be good news, provided it is followed by real action to reduce burdens on businesses.

"Simplifying and codifying health and safety laws will help employers spend less time on tick box exercises, and more time focusing on growing their businesses."

He said it was sensible for health and safety inspections to target high-risk sectors.