Business as usual as HSE and HSC merge
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) officially merge today to become a single national regulatory body responsible for promoting the cause of better health and safety at work.
Prompted by the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, the merger is designed to cut back on red tape and make the organisation more transparent. Phil Smith, chief inspector of quarries, urges operators not to worry about the change.
“It will be business as usual for end users,” he told MQR. “It is more a matter of improving corporate governance. Quarry operators will still see the same people and inspectors will still make independent, individual assessments of operations,” he told MQR.
Changes that will happen include the current chair of the HSC, Judith Hackett, becoming chair of the board of the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with existing HSC commissioners being appointed as unpaid non-executive directors.
More importantly, there will be no change in the Health & Safety at Work Act and none of the statutory functions of the previous HSE and HSC will be removed.
A Government survey in 2006 recorded that 80% of HSE/HSC users would like to see the two bodies merged.
Prompted by the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, the merger is designed to cut back on red tape and make the organisation more transparent. Phil Smith, chief inspector of quarries, urges operators not to worry about the change.
“It will be business as usual for end users,” he told MQR. “It is more a matter of improving corporate governance. Quarry operators will still see the same people and inspectors will still make independent, individual assessments of operations,” he told MQR.
Changes that will happen include the current chair of the HSC, Judith Hackett, becoming chair of the board of the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with existing HSC commissioners being appointed as unpaid non-executive directors.
More importantly, there will be no change in the Health & Safety at Work Act and none of the statutory functions of the previous HSE and HSC will be removed.
A Government survey in 2006 recorded that 80% of HSE/HSC users would like to see the two bodies merged.
