HSE

On 25 May 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its new 10-year strategy (“the Strategy”) which will inform its activities until 2032.

Without substantial additional funding, it is hard to see how the HSE will commit resource to this significant expansion of its remit without directing focus away from some of its usual health and safety inspection work. Alongside its considerable existing duties, the HSE will soon have additional responsibilities as the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in England. The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, and the Public Inquiry into it, has put fire safety at the forefront of discussion, and the government’s response has been to introduce the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022. The Strategy is keen to highlight that the HSE will not unnecessarily impede innovation through its enforcement of health and safety legislation, though clearly this needs to be balanced against making sure these technologies are developed, tested and implemented in a way that does not put people in danger. It is anticipated that new and potentially dangerous technologies will be crucial to making the transition. The Strategy identifies that, in contrast to most other types of injury, work-related mental health issues are on the increase, with the most commonly reported causes of work-related ill health now being stress, depression, or anxiety. On 25 May 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its new 10-year strategy (“the Strategy”) which will inform its activities until 2032.