"All dressed up", but where will the HSC's strategy go?

Howard Fidderman hopes that the new HSC strategy heralds the end of the talk and a start to the walk.

The HSC has published the final version of its strategy1 that will give "a new direction for the health and safety system and the roles of the HSC, the HSE and local authorities." It is also, says HSC chair Bill Callaghan, a strategy about limited resources and change: "It is about doing things differently, getting others involved or even saying no in some cases." Des Browne, the minister responsible for health and safety, stresses that the "radical and brave" strategy cannot be realised by the regulators alone: "It is vital that the whole health and safety system is involved and close partnerships are forged with other stakeholders to bring about change and improvement."

In fact, there is nothing in the new strategy that will not be familiar to those who have followed the HSC's pronouncements in recent years or the consultation process that has led to this point. The "new aims" (see box 1), for example, are nothing of the kind, having been set out in the HSC's business plan for 2003/04 (HSC sees safety as society's cornerstone).

But while the final strategy is in many ways a disappointment -- so little after so much consultation and thought - it is an important document that, as Callaghan points out in a pre-emptive strike at detractors, is a strategy, not a plan. As such, it sets out what the HSC wants to achieve, and will leave the detail of how it "intends to get there" to forthcoming business plans, which are promised by May 2004.

The strategy confirms some significant new directions and shifts in approach for the HSC, the HSE and local authorities (LAs):

  • the demarcation boundaries between the HSE and LAs will be replaced with a new partnership approach to enforcement;

  • the HSE will recognise its resource limitations and reduce the number of areas in which it intervenes;

  • the HSE will put distance between its enforcement and guidance roles by encouraging stakeholder involvement in the latter; and

  • an acceleration in the HSC/E's shift from safety to health (see box 2).

    HSC "reaches out"

    The public development of the strategy began in 2003 and followed extensive public consultation, both at an earlier stage in the process than usual - one reason for the sense of déjà vu - and in terms of an effort to "reach out to people who do not normally receive written consultations"2. Consultation on the HSC's preliminary thoughts elicited 250 responses; formal consultation on the draft strategy elicited 200 responses (HSC heralds health and safety shake-up); in total, including a telephone survey and regional events, the HSC claims it has spoken to over 2,500 people. Given these efforts, it may be comforting to the HSC that it has had to make so few changes of substance to its preliminary thoughts.

    The consultation confirmed five shortcomings in the current situation, which it euphemistically calls "key drivers for change":

  • "a perception that there is no coherent direction to the overall health and safety system";

  • the resources available to the HSE and LAs are limited, "spread too thinly" and need to be targeted at where they can have the most impact;

  • there is "a huge job to do on health", although "the HSC, HSE and LAs have done a great job on safety" - of the 40 million working days lost to occupational injury and ill health in 2001/02, ill health accounted for 33 million;

  • "fear" prevents some organisations from contacting the HSE and LAs. Although this fear may prompt some to action, it may also deter them from seeking advice; and

  • "if we want long-term gains, we need hearts and minds, not grudging acceptance."

    The lack of concrete proposals aside, one irony of the new strategy is that it makes the need to improve communication a "strategic theme" (see box 3), but does so in a document laden with jargon. There can have been few HSC documents so devoted to explaining the differences between missions, new aims, continuing aims, strategic themes, drivers and other kinds of management "speak" (see box 1 and box 2). Indeed at times, it looks like much of the post-consultation deliberation has been more about the label to hang on a "challenge", rather than the action needed to do something about it. In the following sections, we look at what such talk might mean in practice.

    The core business

    The HSC believes that the wide construal of the HSW Act in recent years, combined with a lack of resources, means that the regulators cannot meet the demands placed upon it. It has, therefore, taken some important decisions.

  • The regulators will not intervene proactively where the proper management of risks can be assured, for example where risks are of low significance, well understood and properly managed. The HSC has asked the HSE and LAs to develop criteria for areas where they will not intervene; a consultative document is promised by the end of August.

  • The HSE and LAs will develop an interventions strategy to reduce duplication and recognise the contributions of safety representatives, insurance, guidance, designers, the training and competence of managers, the supply chain, new support mechanisms, inspection and enforcement. The strategy will appear by the end of 2004.

  • The HSC will move away from areas of public safety that are better regulated by other bodies or by other means, such as the civil law. Consultation on the HSC's role in public safety issues will start by the end of the year and include a wider debate across government.

  • The HSC, LAs and government departments will look at the contribution of the workplace to wider public and consumer safety regimes.

  • The HSE and LAs will concentrate on activities directly related to work where they have the skills and expertise. They will continue to identify circumstances that require investigation and enforcement using inspections and investigations. The HSE will continue its work on industries that have the potential to cause significant harm, for example the chemical, offshore, nuclear and railway industries. The priority programme remains unchanged.

  • The HSE emphasises that it does not see new regulation as the "automatic response" to new or changing issues, although it will continue to press for a new law on higher fines, corporate killing and the removal of Crown immunity. At an EU level, it will push for a level playing field with proportionate law implemented consistently.

    Fear and prescription

    Another potentially interesting change in the core business of the regulators involves businesses that claim they want to comply with standards but are fearful of approaching the HSE and LAs for advice. This is supposedly a particular issue for small businesses. The HSC believes that an intervention at the start-up of the business could result in significant health and safety improvements. Its conundrum is to develop this support "while allowing the regulators to continue to be tough on those who wilfully disregard the law". But these are "not easy issues", so there will be further research before any decisions are taken.

    The HSC confirms that it accepts that "others may be better placed to produce good practice guidance for particular industries or topics" and that it will encourage that wherever it can. It will issue proposals by September 2004 for accessible channels of advice and guidance free from the perceived fear of enforcement. One clue as to where some of this help will come from is its hope that, by 2010, unions and trade associations will be working together to develop and communicate industry-specific guidance and advice.

    The HSC reiterates its support for the role of workforce participation in general and the help that union-appointed safety representatives can offer employers in particular. It will promote participation, use the Department of Work and Pensions' (DWP) "Challenge Fund" to extend workplace safety advisers into small businesses and "encourage a voluntary expansion of workplace health and safety representatives across all sectors".

    For some businesses, particularly smaller ones, the HSE again indicates that it may revert to the use of greater prescription. "While goal-setting standards are more flexible and promote innovation, the HSE and LAs will use a more specific and prescriptive approach as a relevant tool where businesses respond better to it. In time, this will increase confidence and competence and promote effective self-regulation."

    Local authorities

    One of the most marked changes over this decade will be the relationship between the HSC/E and LAs. As we noted in LAs to get more carrot, less stick, gone are the days of health and safety meaning the HSE, with LAs occasionally mentioned as a lamentable afterthought. LAs are now invariably mentioned in the same breath as, and as an equal partner with, the HSE.

    There is, says the strategy, "no lasting logic to the current arrangements" that divide enforcement responsibilities between the HSE and LAs. "They are complex, confusing and based on boundaries and approaches that suit more the convenience of the regulator than the needs of business or the workforce. They do not capture the full potential of the HSE and LAs to work together."

    The strategy, says Callaghan, "makes clear that [the HSC], the HSE and LAs are prepared to change the way we work and our existing institutions if they get in the way of progress." The HSE and LAs will therefore work to more sensible divisions of enforcement and targets; for example, certain sectors and large organisations will benefit from a national approach delivered through a centrally coordinated programme. The HSC will review existing arrangements, including the HSE and LA Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA). The HSE and LAs will develop systems for sharing training, intelligence and expertise. The HSC says it will publish a high-level partnership agreement between the HSE and LA political leaders by July 2004.

    A beautiful future

    The HSC hopes that the strategy will mean that, in 10 years' time: the Revitalising targets will have been met; there will be a culture of continuous improvement; the contribution of health and safety management will be better understood; and there will be agreement about the economic and moral case for health and safety interventions. Risk assessment and employee involvement and consultation will be the norm, and there will be greater confidence in the regulators, who will no longer be "the principal drivers for improvement".

    Within this future, the strategy outlines its image of 17 groups of stakeholders, including:

  • employers will be "routinely reporting health and safety performance information as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility and engaging with safety representatives who have a leading role in local health and safety management";

  • health and safety professionals will be "taking the debate outside of mainstream health and safety forums and helping demystify it";

  • occupational health professionals will "be fully integrated and engaged in developing the systems for occupational health and safety; and

  • HSE and LA staff will be "clear about what they are doing and not doing, and why".

    The strategy, says Callaghan, is "about finite resources, hard choices and priorities. It goes without saying that we would welcome more resources and this would help bring improvements in health and safety." But he warned this would still not be enough to "deal with" new and emerging challenges. "This means that the HSE and LAs must concentrate on the things that they are best placed to do, including inspection and enforcement, and to do them where they have the greatest impact."

    Howard Fidderman is a freelance journalist and editor of HSB.

    1 "A strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond", HSC, www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/hsc/strategy.htm.

    2 www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/strategycdresponse.pdf.www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr197.htm.


    BOX 1: THE HSC'S NEW AND CONTINUING AIMS

    The strategy has added four "new aims" to the HSC and HSE's work:

  • to develop new ways to establish and maintain an effective health and safety culture in a changing economy, to ensure that all employers take their responsibilities seriously, and manage risks properly, fully involving their workforce;
    •

  • to do more to address new and emerging work-related heath issues;
    •

  • to achieve higher levels of recognition and respect for health and safety as an integral part of a modern, competitive business and public sector and as a contribution to social justice and inclusion; and
    •

  • to exemplify public sector best practice in managing the HSC/E's resources.
    •

    The HSC's "continuing aims" include:

  • to protect people by providing information and advice, assuring a goal-setting system of regulation, carrying out research and enforcing the law;
    •

  • to influence organisations to embrace high standards of health and safety and to recognise the economic and social benefits;

  • to work with business to prevent catastrophic failures in high-hazard industries; and
    •

    • to seek to optimise the use of resources to deliver the mission and vision, ie to protect health and safety by ensuring the control of workplace risks, to "gain recognition of health and safety as a cornerstone of a civilised society" and to have a health and safety record that leads the world.

     


    BOX 2: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

    The HSC believes that health, of all the challenges it faces, demands a more strategic and partnership-based approach and "new methods". For example, proposals for occupational health and safety support (based on models that are currently being piloted) will be issued by spring 2004.

    The approach to health will see the HSC work with other government departments, particularly in the areas of: employment and productivity, to help keep workers healthy and in work; rehabilitation, by contributing to the nation's health and wellbeing; and public service reform, by reducing sickness in the public sector. Des Browne, the Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, says that working with other stakeholders "is particularly important to me as it touches my department's work in helping people back to work after illness and preventing them getting ill in the first place".

     


    BOX 3: THE HSC'S STRATEGIC THEMES

    The HSC's strategy sets out four strategic themes:

  • developing closer partnerships, for example with investors and local authorities;
    •

  • helping people to benefit from effective health and safety management and a sensible health and safety culture;
    •

  • focusing on its core business and the right interventions where it is best placed to reduce workplace injury and ill health; and
    •

  • communicating the vision.

    •