LTB 245/18 – HSE Business Plan 2018/19
No. 245/2018
24 April 2018
Our Ref: EX5/18
To: All Branches
HSE Business Plan 2018/19
Dear Colleagues,
The HSE has published their Business Plan for 2018/19, signed off by HSE CEO Richard Judge and HSE Chair Martin Temple.
The Business Plan 2018/19 (copy attached) brings together the HSE’s key actions and priorities as the national regulator for health and safety, drawing on the recently published HSE ‘Helping Great Britain Work Well 5-Year Strategy’ and its Industry Sector Plans. The Plan highlights specific priorities, reinforces the HSE’s ongoing commitment, brought together under the four themes:
- Lead and engage with others to improve workplace health and safety. Leading and engaging those who undertake or influence health and safety, for example through engagement with stakeholders on priorities like health at work or through award-winning campaigns;
- Provide an effective regulatory framework. Ensuring the regulatory framework remains effective, bringing a greater focus on supporting small firms and helping duty holders understand how to manage the risks they create in a proportionate way;
- Secure effective management and control of work-related risks – through a range of proportionate approaches including face-to-face contact, licensing regimes in certain higher-risk sectors, dealing with reported concerns efficiently and effectively, and holding people to account by enforcing the law in a firm but fair way;
- Reduce the likelihood of low frequency, high-impact catastrophic incidents. Continuing to promote leadership throughout the higher-hazard industries and projects, as well as dealing with emerging risks such as cyber security.
The Business Plan framework and approach is consistent with previous years which aim to help show how HSE approaches develop over time. The plan aims to gives a sense of balance across the breadth of HSE work – from leadership & influence through to direct interventions. The contents reflect priorities set out in the core strategic Strategy “Helping Great Britain Work Well”, Sector Plans, and the Health and Work programme.
The plan doesn’t attempt to capture everything that the HSE does. Instead, it focuses on priorities where specific action or attention is needed. However, this year the HSE has expanded the overview and priority section for each theme to give a better sense of the total activity. This is based on feedback about what is expected in the Business Plan.
The HSE response to the Government Spending Review settlement is covered. The HSE states that they intend to continue to address the reduction in taxpayer funding through a combination of enhanced cost recovery, commercial growth and efficiencies to support the delivery of the Plan.
The Plan again sees the HSE claim that Great Britain has a health and safety record to be proud of and Great Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work in. Nonetheless, the Plan states that health and safety statistics have plateaued and so this is a stark reminder of the safety and health challenges in the world of work with the impact of work-related injuries and ill health costing the nation£14 Billion a year. This Plan outlines what the HSE will deliver in 2018/19.
The HSE states that the year ahead will also be significant in terms of supporting the Government in its preparations for the UK’s exit from the European Union and any changes that may follow the Grenfell tragedy. It also refers to supporting the Government’s regulatory agenda and business improvement. The CWU, TUC and other Unions will be watching carefully to ensure that doesn’t mean weakening regulations and protections at work.
It concludes that the HSE leads the way, but doesn’t act alone. Everyone has a part to play – Employers, Trade Unions, Trade Associations, Professional Bodies, Academics and others and the HSE thanks them for the commitments they have made to improve health and safety standards, and the HSE welcomes fresh action in the year ahead.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer