Health and safety reforms to benefit small firms

11 August 2008

Changes to the health and safety regime could save small firms up to £300 million a year, the government has said.

The reforms, announced by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), are to target the way in which advice and support on health and safety regulations are to be delivered.

According to a report produced by the Better Regulation Executive (BRE), the average business invests 20 hours a year, or the equivalent of £350, on the administration of health and safety rules.

It has been estimated that offering small and low risk businesses better and more efficient government advice could cut the amount of time devoted to complying with regulations by as much as five hours per firm, resulting in savings of £150 million.

The BRE study also concluded that if only 20 per cent of the businesses that currently use specialist health and safety consultancies for advice turned instead to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), carrying out cheaper in-house measures would achieve £140 million annually in reduced costs.

However, for low-risk and small businesses to benefit from the services offered by the HSE requires an improvement in the way that those services are provided, the report said.

To help smaller firms save money, the report put forward a series of recommendations that would add greater efficiency to the present HSE system. These include better web-based and telephone support; improved guidance on when to buy in the help of consultants; a sharper focus on conducting inspections of higher risk workplaces; and a new, single assurance scheme so that small businesses are faced with just one process in order to deal with a range of health and safety requirements.

John Hutton, the Business Secretary, said: “The UK has one of the best workplace safety records in the world. But the public and business community’s perception of health and safety regulation is poor.

“Introducing simple steps, such as making information more easily available and getting better advice to firms that need it, will help save time and money for UK business. Cutting the amount of paperwork for low-risk businesses and making complex regulations easier to understand will also help to create safer environments for workers and the public.”