Health and Safety Inquiry

4th April 2011

Committee launches new inquiry into health and safety in scotland

The Scottish Affairs Committee today launches its inquiry on health and safety in Scotland.

The Committee welcomes submissions on all aspects of health and safety in Scotland.
In particular, the Committee is interested in:
* The effectiveness of health and safety regulation in Scotland
* The roles and division of responsibilities between the different bodies responsible for health and safety in Scotland
* The effectiveness of the relationships between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Government, local authorities, and other relevant bodies
* The impact of health and safety regulation upon business
* Is there a lack of data on health and safety matters in Scotland, and how does this affect the understanding of potential health and safety problems in Scotland?
* How does the HSE know how effective their interventions are?
* How does the HSE monitor the impact of the cases that are investigated, the number that lead to prosecutions, and whether fines are collected?
* How does the effectiveness of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Scotland compare with the effectiveness of the HSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and whether the organisational structure of the HSE is the best way to manage health and safety in the context of devolution
* Whether the HSE have correctly identified the areas of concern and have appropriately targeted their resources in Scotland?
* What effect any reduction in the HSE workforce might impact upon the HSE as a whole and its work in Scotland?
* What international comparisons with similar sized countries, or similar risk industries, can be made which could be helpful?

The Committee welcomes written evidence from interested parties on any, or all, aspects of the inquiry by Thursday 16 June 2011. The Committee will be arranging public oral evidence sessions, and details of these will be announced in due course.
Submissions should be in Word or rich text format and sent by e-mail to scotaffcom[AT]parliament.uk. Do not send in pdf format. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.

Submissions must address the terms of the inquiry and should not, as a rule, exceed 2,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document should include an executive summary.