Posted By Bob Shillabeer
Steady on now, the Government has enacted quite a lot of legislation relating to H&S at work, along with its committment to legislate only where there is a clear need is commendable but everything has its limits. There is a huge agenda to go through any Parliament so there is not time for it all. The Corp Manslaughter bill is having a rough ride but will hopefully become law soon. Remember this was a private members bill and as such was very specific. Like most private members bills it will never get past its first reading. There are other ways of getting law changed and this sort of stunt is mostly a publicity thing and nothing else. If the HSE felt the offences needed tougher penalties they would put it forward. As for cuts in the HSE, all organisations change its what they do with thier remaining resouces that counts.

Posted By Descarte
Court of Appeal case of Howe

"The objective of prosecutions for health and safety offences in the workplace is to achieve a safe environment for those who work there and for other members of the public who may be affected. A fine needs to be large enough to bring that message home where the defendant company is a company not only to those who manage it but also to its shareholders."

"we accept that [the fine should not be so large enough to imperil the earnings of employees or create a risk of bankruptcy] there may be cases where the offences are so serious that the defendant ought not to be in business"

The average penatly per convition by the HSE in 2001 (I cant find any more recent stats) was just over £6000.