Health and safety at work - regulation and inspection

Introduction

Information about regulation and inspection of health and safety at work.

Officers with the Health and Safety enforcement Section enforce health and safety law in about 3000 workplaces in Solihull. We share enforcement responsibility with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and have the same powers as HSE inspectors under the Health and Safety at Work etc... Act 1974. The difference is the type of premises the two organisations inspect.

Essentially the Local Authority (LA) inspectors look after the following main activities in non-domestic premises:

• Warehouses storing goods for wholesale or retail;
• Wholesale and retail shops, including tyre and exhaust fitting establishments;
• Display and sale of goods at an exhibition;
• Catering establishments, including restaurants, cafes;
• Office activities;
• Consumer services in shops such as shoe repairers;
• Hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfast, camp sites and caravan sites;
• Health clubs and leisure activities, theatres, cinemas, disco's etc;
• Therapeutic treatments, including massage parlours, solaria, aromatherapy
• Child care, including nurseries and play groups;
• Undertakers;
• Churches and religious meeting halls;
• Coin operated wet and dry cleaning;
• Animal accommodation, including kennels, catteries and stables;
• Zoos.

HSE deal with the rest including factories and in particular:

• Mines and quarries;
• Fairgrounds;
• Radio or television broadcasting;
• Most construction work;
• Agricultural activities;
• Use of x-ray machines;
• Activities on board ship;
• Ski lifts, ski tows and cable cars;
• Maintenance repair and installation of electricity and gas systems;
• Maggot, fish and game breeding;
• LA activities, and the services (Police, fire and health, including hospitals);
• Domestic premises.

The contact details for the local HSE office responsible for the Solihull area is

Health & Safety Executive No 1 Hagley Road, Birmingham Telephone: 0121 607 6200

The split between the LA and HSE is not always clear therefore, HSE and LA inspectors liaise closely on enforcement issues. If you are unsure about who is your enforcing authority, please contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I expect a health and safety inspection of my premises?

The frequency of inspection is decided in line with national guidance, and is dependent on the extent of the risks (to employees and the public).

Premises are given a score rating, dependent on a number of factors, and the total score determines which of six categories your business falls into.

In summary, premises will now be rated into 3 broad categories - A, B, C, made up of 6 groups as follows:

A to be inspected not less than once per year

B1 to be inspected not less than once per 18 months

B2 to be inspected not less than once per 2 years

B3, B4 and C intervention strategies other than inspections should be used; this is the biggest divergence from the previous LAC.

LAs should review at 3 and 5 year periods respectively the need for inspecting premises in groups B3 and B4 whilst category C premises should not normally be a part of the planned inspection cycle. The type of intervention is left to authorities to decide the most suitable method, and can include monitoring of incident reports, seminars, and questionnaires, normally directed at revitalising health and safety strategy topic inspection areas.

The score rating for any premises can be changed in the light of accidents or complaints received, and hence you can get an inspection sooner than the original planned date. A new calculation is made each time an inspection is conducted.

What you can expect from us?

We will normally book an appointment to carry out an inspection. This is because we will want to meet the Manager/Supervisor, or whoever has specific responsibility for health and safety on the premises. If there is a staff health and safety representative or union representative, they should also be given the opportunity to meet with us.

We will behave in a courteous manner, and have our official identification/authorisation warrant available on request. This contains a photograph of the officer, and also details that officer's powers in full.

We will leave you with a leaflet entitled 'What to expect when a health and safety inspector calls', to give you further information about our visit.

At the end of the visit, we will advise you of further action that you need to take.

Following the inspection, we will always write to you, sending an inspection report to confirm issues discussed. You should receive the report within three weeks from the date of the visit.

The report will summarise:

• Requirements - things you have to do to comply with the law; and
• Recommendations - these may be suggestions for good practice, or changes which may help you comply further.

Notes on how to interpret the correspondence will accompany the report.

In some cases, it may be necessary to serve formal legal notices to ensure that works are completed. We will discuss this with you during the inspection.

Included with the report, we will also endeavour to include references to further useful information, or include advice leaflets where appropriate.

We will always make ourselves available to provide advice and guidance, either before, during or following the inspection.

What we expect from you?

Where we have booked an inspection with the Manager/ Supervisor, it may not be necessary for that person to accompany us throughout the whole inspection, although we prefer this. We will still expect you to devote some time to us during the visit, so that we can discuss any issues or problems with you.

Where possible, it is helpful for us to be able to sit down with you somewhere quiet so we can talk through general health and safety issues.

In addition to the physical inspection, you should have any relevant paperwork relating to health and safety available for us to inspect. This may include (where appropriate):

• Health and safety policy statement
• Risk Assessments and safe systems of work
• Plant Maintenance and inspection reports (eg electrical testing, lift maintenance)
• Staff Training Records
• Accident Book

What are an Inspector's powers?

An authorised inspector has the power to:

• enter the premises at all reasonable times;
• carry out investigations and examinations;
• take measurements, photographs and samples;
• take possession of articles or substances;
• require people to give accurate information and take statements from them;
• inspect and copy any relevant documents.