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The Government believes that it is reasonable that businesses that are found to be in serious breach of health and safety law – rather than the taxpayer - should bear the related costs incurred by the regulator in helping them put things right. A cost recovery principle will provide a deterrent to those who would otherwise fail to meet their obligations and a level playing field for those who do. It is proposed that HSE will recover all of the costs of an inspection/investigation at which a serious, material breach in standards is diagnosed and a requirement to rectify is formally made, together with the cost of any follow-up work. Businesses that are in compliance with the law will not be liable for any kind of charge as a result of an HSE inspection and there will be no recovery in relation to purely technical breaches. An appeal system will be operated by HSE in relation to any disputes over cost recovery. The Government also intends to allow HSE to cost-recover from business in relation to services it provides which are a necessary part of the process of land development. In consequence HSE will recover its full costs for acting as a statutory consultee for land use planning applications and hazardous substance consents. It is also proposed for HSE to charge where it provides initial advice to large development projects at the request of developers. Local authorities are responsible for health and safety regulation in around 50% of total business premises, generally lower health and safety risk areas like offices, shops and leisure activities. There are currently some 196,000 local authority inspection visits per year. The comparatively large number of local authority visits reflects in part the assistance that they are able to provide to businesses across a range of health and safety services and requirements. The Government believes that it is right to apply similar principles to local authority health and safety activities. It will look to see a reduction of at least a third (65,000 per annum) of inspections and greater targeting where proactive inspection continues. The Government will also encourage HSE and local authorities to increase their information provision for small businesses in a form which is both accessible and relevant to their needs.
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