CAMERON’S PLEDGE TO CUT HEALTH AND SAFETY "RED TAPE"
By: Antonia Torr, Current Not yet Rated

In a speech earlier this week the Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced new plans to lessen the severity of the Health and Safety Laws imposed upon businesses to lessen bureaucracy and increase efficiency.

In his recent proposals Cameron has outlined his intention lessen the severity of the Health and Safety Laws to free up the systems of business and culture. He identified the rules like forcing children to wear eye protective goggles when playing conkers, and prohibiting trainee hairdressers from using scissors; as “over the top” and ridiculous, saying that the Coalition Government would adopt “sensible new approach”.



However, many have warned, this new move may do more harm than good, particularly Labour representatives, who argued that many of the “over the top” regulations highlighted are merely “myths” perpetuated by the overzealous media. The reality of Health and Safety seems to be far more reasonable and grounded in sense.

The Conservative Party have long been set against the Health and Safety systems of the Labour Government. This re-voiced attitude is not surprising; not only because a new Government will inevitably attempt discredit and undo any initiative of a previous Government, but also because it is inherent in the nature of the right to mistrust the Health and Safety regulations imposed upon businesses. Cameron’s wish is to stand up for business, easing off regulation and government interference to allow a freer market.

Yet when the facts are analysed, Cameron is doing businesses a disservice by removing the protection, particularly in the recent economic climate. The Legal information provider Sweet & Maxwell has found that the general air of discontent, coupled the economic strife of the Recession, has driven many to file personal injury claims against their employers. This has caused the number of personal injury cases filed to the High court to rise by 38% between 2006 – 2008, and the trend seems to be continuing. Amidst this, Cameron is proposing to provide an open invitation for employers to lessen their Health and Safety precautions and leave themselves vulnerable to accusations of negligence, as the number of workplace related injuries would inevitably rise.

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Yet the crucial point which often seems to be missed in this debate, is that the basis of the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) is not, as some may argue, a negative piece of legislation. Previous to its creation, a centrally regulated Health and Safety system was non-existent, yet suddenly clear regulations to protect the physical safety of the employee were put in place. The effect of this was to end the cultural belief that danger and even death were an unavoidable element of the workplace and therefore should not be tackled at the cost of profit and efficiency. New attitudes are far more safety orientated, as a direct result of the legislation.

The workplace of today is a far less perilous place. The Act has in fact actively reduced the number of fatal injuries in the work place by a staggering 70% since the passing of the act, numbers of deaths falling from 651 in 1974 to 180 in 2008-2009. Health and Safety sceptics can scoff as much as they please, but the benefits cannot be denied. A recent review has even suggested that there is still much further to go: in a global review of Health and Safety in 30 countries, Britain ranked a dismal 20th. Weakening the Health and Safety laws, far from being a positive move, is in fact a decisive step away from progress and improvement.

As the head of Loughborough University Engineering Department, Alistair Gibbs, has observed “It is a mistake to claim that health and safety always makes things worse and slower”. The compulsory use of cherry pickers to transport steelworkers instead of physical scaling of steel work, although actively resisted by the industry when it was initially enforced, has in fact increased speed and efficiency, benefitting the industry as well as the worker: the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Cameron’s aim itself is flawed and the pledge to cut “red tape” may in fact hamper businesses further as they trip over the ends now trailing long the ground.

In his wish to remove the “Stultifying blanket of bureaucracy, suspicion and fear”, The Prime Minister seems to be travelling in the wrong direction. Evidence suggests that his efforts would be better placed by focusing on retaining Health and Safety regulations to ensure the safety of employees and prevent the employer becoming culpable to the rising tide of personal injury claims.

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Antonia Torr is a graduate from the University of Leicester, with a degree in Law with European Union Law. Having enjoyed writing from a young age, Antonia has received numerous awards that act as a testament to her quality of writing. To find out more about what you can claim regarding Personal Injury Claims, Why not pop in to a QualitySolicitors Branch today, or visit our website at www.qualitysolicitors.com to find your nearest branch and claim a Free Consultation.

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