Cutbacks at HSE leading to health and safety ‘perfect storm’, argues union

There has been a 200-fold increase in ‘mandatory’ Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations that have then failed to be carried out because of a “perfect storm” of resourcing cutbacks, a union has said.

A report by the Prospect union has detailed what it has argued is a build-up of problems at the HSE because of years of underfunding, overwork and underpay.

Mandatory investigations are meant to take place after a serious work-related accident, for example one that results in a death or permanent injury.

There are a number of reasons why such incidents may not then get investigated. This can include because it is not practical to do so, for example if key evidence is no longer available, because all ‘reasonably practical’ precautions have been taken to avoid a recurrence, or because of ‘inadequate resources’.

The report, HSE under pressure: a perfect storm, has used the HSE’s own figures to show that in 2016/17 there were just two mandatory investigations cancelled because of insufficient resources. By comparison, in 2021/22 this figure had risen to 389, as shown in the graphic below.

The union has argued the rising number of cancellations is indicative of an overall reduction in capacity at the HSE, which it has then contended is a direct result of a decade of reduced funding affecting recruitment, pay and morale.

Overall cash funding for HSE fell dramatically from £228m in 2010 to £126m in 2019, the union has said. Although there has been a recovery since then, to £185m in 2022, the executive is still behind where it should be financially.

The current funding level is 43% below 2010, once one-off ringfenced payments are taken into account, the union has said. This is a situation that has left the HSE “with a staffing and skills crisis that will be difficult to overcome”, it has alleged.

The report argues the executive is facing “a perfect storm” from a combination of factors, central to which have been government funding decisions. “The degree of pressure that HSE is under is increasing and, if not alleviated soon, at best HSE will be unable to sustain its reputation as a respected regulator and at worst, will struggle to exist even in diminished form,” it has warned.

“Failures to recruit and retain the correct mix of skilled specialist staff, from scientists and policy-makers to inspectors will lead to an inability to deliver advisory and regulatory functions, justice for victims, and be an effective deterrent to bad employers and those who do not take the law seriously,” it said.

“It’s time for a new campaign to save the HSE and demand a realignment of the HSE, to ensure its independence and activities are in line with public and stakeholder expectations,” the report added.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: “The Covid pandemic really highlighted that if you want safe workplaces then you need to have an effective regulator in place with sufficient skills and capacity to inspect workplaces and hold employers to account.

“If appropriate levels of inspections and mandatory investigations are not happening, half of them because of a lack of resources, then that should worry anyone who values safety at work.

“The bottom line is that if effective investigations cannot be carried out then those who are at fault for an accident may get away with it, depriving victims of justice and making workplaces less safe,” he added.