We are heading for a busy time. Mr Cameron plans are full of holes.....more like loop holes for those responsible for injuries, deaths and diseases caused by industrial activity. I think he will change his tune once he sits up and listens to those who know best. It will be very interesting to see the wave of change within the construction industry, the increase in injuries etc etc etc. He will meet with plenty of opposition I'm sure! Perhaps IOSH can educate him? Has anyone read his health and safety speech....it's laughable! I would like to see what the major contractors group say about his plans, as they all back his regime!!

My Tuppence Worth I think due to public sector spending cuts, Contractors ( especially social housing contractors ) will feel the brunt of these cuts when housing associations / councils cut the housing budget which means reduced spend for proprty refurbishments if these clients get a reduced budget from local or central government. Ultimately redundancies will occur for all levels of staff working for the contractors if they are involved in Social Housing either housebuilding or property refurbishment / upgrades during this year. John

Morning all, Are the new incumbrants planning to re-write PUWER, LOLER,HASAWA then, have I missed a trick?? I was also unaware that Health and Safety common sense is the preserve of the socialist only. I can only speak for myself, but the laws of gravity and physics have not changed in the last 8 days, neither has LOLER98 - so I shall continue to ensure that anyone who comes into contact with me leaves both encouraged and confident that they know the best course of action vis-a-vis Lifting Equipment to keep their workforce and the public safe. Yours aye Db (Former RMT)

Clairel I was speaking from contractor viewpoint and from past experience of working for consultancy and Principal Contractor. Putting it simply if there is a cut in housing spend then Social Housing Contractors will cut its own staff = reduced employment prospects for new / experienced health and safety personell or existing health and safety staff facing redundancy. This is a fact that staff face who work in this sector. John

Clairel Too many Johns I think ! Although I think when the dust settles ( so to speak ) there will be numerous opportunities for work for people to become health and safety consultants when the construction economy starts to move again. Its just a case of when.

Dear All Bob is right - we should get plenty of warning about any changes. There doesn't appear to be a great deal to get excited about yet. David Young is doing a health and safety review. I expect it will get published at some stage, might even be soon. At that point any proposals will get discussed. If they form some basis of legal change they will have to be formulated into regulations and a consultation document will have to be issued. If it is a contentious issue, a discussion document could be issued. Normally the consultation period will last three months during which anybody who cares to can comment. Following this there is usually a period when the proposals are further discussed with relevant stakeholders. Proposed regulations would need to be agreed by the HSE and submitted to Ministers. If a set of regulations is then agreed, there is a parliamentary process during which the regulations 'lay' in Parliament. Even at this stage technical objections can be made, such as the Tories did against the last set of asbestos regulations. Historically this has not been what one would regard as a ‘fast track’ process. Agreed regulations then usually have a period of time before they are enacted. According to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, no new legislation can be introduced which worsens the standards in existence. In other words under Section 1(2) of the Act, new laws need to ‘maintain or improve’ standards of health, safety and welfare established by existing ‘enactments’. There may be concern about the proposed Tories amendments to the HSAWA 1974 to exempt the police service from certain current requirements; the somewhat bizarre report from the Policy Exchange ‘Health and Safety – Reducing the Burden report has already received comment; and the speeches from David Cameron and David Young, the latter at the IOSH conference. It might be worth waiting to see some actual proposals before going into ‘the end of the world is nigh’ mode. Cheers. Nigel

I'm pleased to have stirred a bit of healthy debate. There are some great responses. My concerns are based purely on the history of past conservative governments. I do hope the current coalition government are successful and fulfill their dreams and as one post response said "we cannot go backwards".