The government have announced another review of health and safety.This time the review will be looking at European Regulations that could be abolished or reformed. The review will be business led and cover health and safety, employment law and company registration. A press release can be found here: http://news.bis.gov.uk/P...mpaign=Feed%3A+bis-news+(BIS+News)

I had a quick look at who is on the panel and spotted several company names who have recently been prosecuted for blatant H&S breaches and one who is know to sail very close to the wind with regard to employment law.

The BIS press release states that, "The work of the group will inform government reform and lobbying in Brussels and across Europe, as well as helping shape longer-term thinking about the impact of EU regulation on the UK. Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “The government believes in business, not bureaucracy. As well as stripping away unnecessary regulations at home we’re fighting hard to promote a pro-business culture in Europe. But our ambitions for growth demand quick action to clear away the rules that create the biggest burdens. “The men and women I’ve invited to help us to identify and remove barriers to growth represent small and large businesses, established firms and start-ups. They have an unparalleled body of expertise and unquestionable commitment to innovation. We’ll listen carefully to their recommendations and demand that the EU takes decisive steps to free up UK firms.” It is appears to be trying to influence at EU level and in any forum, one does not get anywhere by "denading"!

So China is now the benchmark for H&S and employment law!

I'd suggest that the key is to engage the vast majority of UK companies that actually want to act ethically and have embraced the idea that safety is good for business. The laws and regulations are there to maintain a level playing field for them. If some cowboy undercuts a decent employer and someone gets maimed, we taxpayers have to pick up the pieces all the way down the line. Why the politicians can't see this is beyond me

The whole point is that the ethical UK employer is supposedly uncompetitive with international markets. The government is reportedly looking to reduce "bureaucracy" (read regulations and enforcement thereof and hence the cost of doing business). UK companies are already invested in the process whether by ethical choice or law enforcement and apparently suffering for it. The government spin is that the goal is to reduce the economic disadvantage of UK Companies and that the source of this disadvantage is "bureaucracy". The truth is that the cost of doing business in the UK is generally higher than other countries. This can be attributed to any number of factors including a lack of the NHS, Rehabilitative prisons, Human rights, Education, one person one vote. The cynical amongst us might be forgiven for thinking that this is just an excuse for unscrupulous business men to increase profits. The real danger is that in trying to reduce the cost of enforcement that the government will simply reduce the legal requirement. A more elegant way may in fact be to reduce enforcement but increase penalties for directors and shareholders if convicted of failures to comply with HSE laws. Should we require someone to die before directors go to jail. They have potentially been equally negligent even if no one dies. If shareholders care about money so much then clearly their pockets are the only way to get their attention. Simple fines for companies however are not the way forward as these weaken companies and reduce the resources for corrective action. Instead, why not take a legal claim on the company it's self and have the fine paid back with interest from shareholder dividends. Anyway, I digress. If we engage the consumer maybe they will finally realise that if they buy a brand the chances are that most of their hard earned money is going either into the tax coffers to pay for their well being or straight into the pocket of some multi millionaire, Italian (or American or any other nationality, but this seemed topical) tax evader. In fact a very small proportion of what they actually spend goes to the cost of material and labour. The point is as described below. Through global market normalisation we will inevitably end up with the same work conditions as someone in a sweat shop in Calcutta. If people choose to buy from companies who do not provide safe work conditions and fair pay for their staff, where ever they may be in the world then sooner or later (sooner if the media is to be believed) they will end up with the same conditions. The same applies if they choose to buy from companies that seek to enrich the lives of their workers. It is exactly the same premise as a democracy. Vote with your feet people.

If HSE legislation is reduced then how long do you think the NHS will last?

Stripping away 'unnecessary' regulation really worked wonders for the banking industry..... a massive financial crash! Mr Fallon take note...

Its not so long ago that all & sundry, including myself, were saying how good 'we' are here in the UK, e.g. safety success of the Olympic Park project. And it was from my perspective anyway,an extremely well managed & safe 'build'...... tend to agree with walker in that it's a good vote winner, so I won't hold my breath on this initiative leading to anything earth shattering.