The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational

risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...

s in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. It is a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

with its headquarters in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

, England. In

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, these duties lie with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland. The HSE was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and has since absorbed earlier regulatory bodies such as the Factory Inspectorate and the Railway Inspectorate though the Railway Inspectorate was transferred to the Office of Rail and Road in April 2006. The HSE is sponsored by the

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

. As part of its work, HSE investigates industrial accidents, small and large, including major incidents such as the explosion and fire at Buncefield in 2005. Though it formerly reported to the

Health and Safety Commission The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was a United Kingdom non-departmental public body. The HSC was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). It was formally established on 31 July 1974. The Commission consisted of a chairm ...

, on 1 April 2008, the two bodies merged.

Functions

The Executive's duties are to: *Assist and encourage persons concerned with matters relevant to the operation of the objectives of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. *Make arrangements for and encourage research and publication, training, and information in connection with its work. *Make arrangements for securing government departments, employers, employees, their respective representative organisations, and other persons are provided with an information and advisory service and are kept informed of, and adequately advised on such matters. *Propose health and safety regulations. The Executive is further obliged to keep the Secretary of State informed of its plans and ensure alignment with the policies of the Secretary of State, giving effect to any directions given to it. The Secretary of State can give directions to the Executive. The Railway Inspectorate was transferred to HSE in 1990. On 1 April 2006, the Executive ceased to have responsibility for railway safety, when the Railway Inspectorate was transferred to the Office of Rail Regulation (now the Office of Rail and Road). The Executive is responsible for the Employment Medical Advisory Service, which operates as part of its Field Operations Directorate.

Structure and responsibilities

Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of health and safety legislation in shops, offices, and other parts of the service sector. Agencies belonging to the HSE include

Health and Safety Executive, Science Division

Based in Buxton, Derbyshire, the Health and Safety Executive Science Division (HSL- Health & Safety Laboratory) employs over 350 people including scientists, engineers, psychologists, social scientists, health professionals, and technical specialists. It was established in 1921 under the Safety in Mines Research Board to carry out large-scale tests related to mining hazards. Following the formation of the HSE, in 1975 the facilities became a Safety Engineering Laboratory and an Explosion and Flame Research Laboratory, operating as part of the Research Laboratories Service Division of the HSE. In 1995 the HSL was formed, including the Buxton site and laboratories in Sheffield. In 2004 the Sheffield activities moved to Buxton, and the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

took over the Sheffield laboratory site.www.hsl.gov.uk
A Century of Science It now operates as an agency carrying out scientific research and investigations (e.g. on the Buncefield fire) for the HSE, other government agencies and the private sector.

HM Inspectorate of Mines

HM Inspectorate of Mines is responsible for the correct implementation and inspection of safe working procedures within all UK mine workings. It is based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

Offshore Safety Division

The Offshore Safety Division (OSD) was established as a division within HSE in April 1991. This was in response to recommendations of the Cullen Inquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster on 6 July 1988. At the time of the disaster, the Department of Energy (DEn) was responsible for both production and offshore safety; this was perceived as entailing a conflict of interests. Dr Tony Barrell, Director of HSE's Technology and Air Pollution Division was appointed Chief Executive of OSD, having previously been seconded to the DEn to lead the transfer of responsibilities. At the same time, Ministerial oversight was transferred from the DEn to the Department of Employment. The Offshore Safety Act 1992 made the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971 and its subsidiary Regulations relevant statutory provisions of the Health and Safety at work etc., Act 1974. The OSD's initial responsibilities included the establishment of the Safety Case Regulations; a thorough review of existing safety legislation and the move towards a goal setting regulatory regime. OSD became part of the HSE's new Hazardous Installations Directorate in 1999; it became part of the new Energy Division in 2013.

OSHCR (Occupational Safety & Health Consultants Register)

The HSE currently administers the Occupational Safety & Health Consultants Register ( OSHCR), a central register of registered safety consultants within the United Kingdom. The intention of the HSE is to pass responsibility of operating the register to the relevant trade & professional bodies once the register is up and running.

Building Safety Regulator

The HSE currently administers the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), a regulator of safety standards in buildings.

Personnel

Directors general

List of directors general: * January 1975 December 1983: John Howard Locke * January 1984 30 June 1995: John David Rimington * 3 July 1995 30 Sept 2000: Jennifer (Jenny) Helen Bacon * 1 October 2000 November 2005: Timothy Edward Hanson Walker * November 2005 31 March 2008: Geoffrey John Freeman Podger The HSE and the Health and Safety Commission merged on 1 April 2008.

Deputy directors general

* Lois Audrey Pittom 19751978 * Bryan Hugh Harvey 19751976 * James Carver 19761977 * Eric Williams 19751976 * (Herbert) John Dunster 19761982 * Dr Kenneth Playfair Duncan 19821984 * David Charles Thomas Eves 1989-2002 * Jenny Helen Bacon 1992-1995 * Richard Hillier 1996-2001 * Kate Timms 2001-2004 * (James) Justin McCracken 2002-2008 * Jonathan Rees 2004-2008 The HSE and the Health and Safety Commission merged on 1 April 2008.

Chair and chief executive

Chairs: * Dame Judith Elizabeth Hackitt 1 April 2008 31 March 2016 * George Brechin interim chair April 2016 * Martin Temple 1 May 2016 31 July 2020 * Sarah Newton from 1 August 2020 – present. Chief Executives: * Geoffrey John Freeman Podger 1 April 2008 31 August 2013 * (Denis) Kevin Myers Acting Chief Executive 1 September 2013 –9 November 2014 * Richard Judge 10 November 2014 17 August 2018 * David Snowball Acting Chief Executive 15 June 2018 1 September 2019 * Sarah Albon 1 September 2019present

Heads of OSD

* Dr Anthony (Tony) Charles Barrell (Chief Executive), April 1991 June 1994 * Roderick Stuart Allison (Chief Executive) July 1994 1996 * Dr Allan Douglas Sefton 1996 June 2000 * T.A.F. Powell, June 2000 December 2005 * Ian Whewell, January 2006 October 2009 * Steve Walker, October 2009 March 2013

Criticism

Some of the criticism of HSE has been that its procedures are inadequate to protect safety. For example, the public enquiry by Lord Gill into the Stockline Plastics factory explosion criticised the HSE for "inadequate appreciation of the risks associated with buried LPG pipework…and a failure properly to carry out check visits". However, most criticism of the HSE is that their regulations are over-broad, suffocating, and part of a nanny state. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' has claimed that the HSE is part of a " compensation culture," that it is undemocratic and unaccountable, and that its rules are costing jobs. The HSE denies this, saying that much of the criticism is misplaced because it relates to matters outside the HSE's remit. The HSE also responded to criticism by publishing a "Myth of the Month" section on its website between 2007 and 2010, which it described as "exposing the various myths about 'health and safety'". This has become a political issue in the UK. The Lord Young report, published in October 2010, recommended various reforms aiming "to free businesses from unnecessary bureaucratic burdens and the fear of having to pay out unjustified damages claims and legal fees."

Areas of regulation

The HSE focuses regulation of health and safety in the following sectors of industry: *

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

*Air transport *

Armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

*Catering and hospitality *

Construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

industries * Crown establishments *Chemical manufacture and storage industries *

Professional diving Professional diving is underwater diving where the divers are paid for their work. Occupational diving has a similar meaning and applications. The diving procedures, procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an ...

* Dockwork *

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

sector e.g. schools *

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

sector *

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

industry * Fire service *Food and drink manufacturing *Footwear and leather industries * Haulage *

Health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

e.g. hospitals *Gas supply and installation; Gas Safe Register *Laundries and dry-cleaning *

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

*Motor vehicle repair *Office work * Offshore oil and gas installations *Paper and board manufacturing industry *

Pesticides Pesticides are substances that are used to pest control, control pest (organism), pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for a ...

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

forces *

Printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

industries *

Public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

*The

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

ing industry * Recycling and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...