Commission overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 31 July 1974 |
Dissolved | 1 April 2008 |
Superseding agency | |
Type | Crown-status non-departmental public body |
Jurisdiction | England and Wales and Scotland |
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was a United Kingdom non-departmental public body. The HSC was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). [1] It was formally established on 31 July 1974. The Commission consisted of a chairman and between six and nine other people, appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment, latterly the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, after consultation. [2] The first meeting of the HSC took place on 1 October 1974. Its responsibilities covered England and Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, its functions were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland. It merged with the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2008.
The Commission's duties were to: [3]
The Commission was further obliged keep the Secretary of State informed of its plans and ensure alignment with the policies of the Secretary of State, giving effect to any directions given to it. [4] The Secretary of State could give directions to the Commission. [5]
On 1 April 2006, the Commission ceased to have responsibility for railway safety. [6]
The Health and Safety Commission had five chair persons in its 34-year existence [7]
Commission members included:
In practice, the Commission delegated its responsibilities to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). [9]
In August 2007, the Department for Work and Pensions started consultation on merger of the HSC and HSE to a largely positive response. [10] On 18 March 2008, government minister Lord McKenzie of Luton announced that the merger would be completed during spring 2008. [11] The merger was completed on 1 April 2008. [12] [13]
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemployment benefits, reemployment services, and occasionally, economic statistics. It is headed by the secretary of labor, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in the United Kingdom. It is a non-departmental public body with its headquarters in Bootle, England. In Northern Ireland, these duties lie with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland. The HSE was created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and has since absorbed earlier regulatory bodies such as the Factory Inspectorate and the Railway Inspectorate though the Railway Inspectorate was transferred to the Office of Rail and Road in April 2006. The HSE is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. As part of its work, HSE investigates industrial accidents, small and large, including major incidents such as the explosion and fire at Buncefield in 2005. Though it formerly reported to the Health and Safety Commission, on 1 April 2008, the two bodies merged.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. It oversees the English National Health Service (NHS). The department is led by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries of state.
As low as reasonably practicable (ALARP), or as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), is a principle in the regulation and management of safety-critical and safety-involved systems. The principle is that the residual risk shall be reduced as far as reasonably practicable. In UK and NZ Health and safety law, it is equivalent to so far as is reasonably practicable (SFAIRP). In the US, ALARA is used in the regulation of radiation risks.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that as of 2011 defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare within the United Kingdom.
Paul Myners, Baron Myners, was a British businessman and politician. In October 2008 he was elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer and was appointed City Minister in the Labour Government of Gordon Brown, serving until May 2010. As City Minister Myners was responsible for overseeing the financial services sector during the global financial crisis and its aftermath, including leading the controversial 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package. Myners sat in the House of Lords as a Labour peer until 2014, resigning to become a non-affiliated member before joining the crossbench group in 2015.
The Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR) are statutory instruments which form the main legal requirements for the use and control of ionising radiation in the United Kingdom. There have been several versions of the regulations, the current legislation was introduced in 2017 (IRR17), repealing the 1999 regulations and implementing the 2013/59/Euratom European Union directive.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 is a United Kingdom Statutory Instrument which states general requirements imposed on employers to protect employees and other persons from the hazards of substances used at work by risk assessment, control of exposure, health surveillance and incident planning. There are also duties on employees to take care of their own exposure to hazardous substances and prohibitions on the import of certain substances into the European Economic Area. The regulations reenacted, with amendments, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Work Regulations 1999 and implement several European Union directives.
Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the representative forum for professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the United Kingdom construction industry.
The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health is a UK-based examination board offering qualifications in health, safety, environment and wellbeing management.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, often known by the acronym RIDDOR, is a 2013 statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It regulates the statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and "dangerous occurrences", including near misses, that take place at work or in connection with work.
In the United Kingdom there are several crimes that arise from failure to take care of health, safety and welfare at work.
In the United Kingdom there are several pieces of regulation relevant to health and safety at work. Prior to Brexit, many of these gave effect to European Union directives.
The Workplace Regulations 1992, a United Kingdom statutory instrument, stipulate general requirements on accommodation standards for nearly all workplaces. The regulations implemented European Union directive 89/654/EEC on minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace and repealed and superseded much of the Factories Act 1961 and Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963.
Sir William Henry Callaghan is a British trade unionist who is Chairman of the Legal Services Commission, the organisation responsible for administering legal aid.
The Employment Medical Advisory Service is a statutory public service in Great Britain operated as part of the Field Operations Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is the regulator for the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom. It is an independent statutory corporation whose costs are met by charging fees to the nuclear industry. The ONR reports to the Department for Work and Pensions, although it also worked closely with the now-defunct Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Dame Judith Elizabeth Hackitt,, FIChemE, FCGI is a British engineer and civil servant. A former Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive, she is currently Chair of manufacturing trade body EEF.
The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) is a public register of UK-based occupational health and safety advice consultants, set up to assist UK employers and business owners with general advice on workplace health and safety issues. The register was established in response to the Government’s October 2010 report on 'Common Sense, Common Safety', which recommended that all health and safety consultants should be accredited to professional bodies and a web-based directory established.
John Howard Locke CB was a British civil servant in the Department of Employment; the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; the Cabinet Office; and the Ministry of Transport. He was instrumental in implementing and championing the British risk-based approach to workplace health, safety and welfare: through drafting the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and as the first director-general of the Health and Safety Executive, the body responsible for enforcing the provisions of the act.