Resource Pressures Put HSE Effectiveness At Risk
8 May 2023
Significant budget cuts and pay constraints have contributed to a capacity and experience crisis in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), putting its effectiveness as Great Britain’s principal safety regulator at risk, warns the trade union Prospect in a new report.
Unless the degree of pressure the HSE is under is alleviated soon, at best the HSE will not be able to sustain its reputation as a respected regulator, the trade union argues. At worst, it could result in the HSE struggling to exist, even in a diminished form.
Prospect warns that a decade of reduced funding has affected recruitment, pay and staff morale.
On the issue of HSE resourcing, Prospect’s analysis finds that in cash terms the regulator has experienced cuts of around 45% to its core grant-in-aid funding since 2010. In 2019/20, this funding amounted to £126m and although it increased to £185m in 2021/22, this figure is still significantly lower than the £228m in funding provided in 2009/10, argues Prospect.
Turning to the additional income that the HSE receives, Prospect warns that the Fees for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery regime, introduced in 2012, has generated ‘only a fraction of the reduction in grant-in-aid’.
On the issue of staff morale, the trade union argues the government’s tight control over HSE staff’s pay budget has resulted in ‘cumulative below-inflation pay awards’. As an additional disincentive, the decision to remove the pay progression system in 2013 means there is now ‘no current mechanism for rewarding any developing capability for individual staff’, argues Prospect.
Many HSE staff who are ‘stranded on the pay ranges’ have found they are being ‘leapfrogged by new starters’ because the HSE has to ‘offer pay higher up the pay range’ in order to meet its recruitment needs. Measured against many of its relevant comparators, the ‘HSE’s pay rates are no longer competitive’, adds the trade union, making recruitment and retention difficult.
Although the HSE is committed to delivering a long-awaited pay reform, Prospect’s analysis reports that many of its HSE members have disclosed that they are waiting to see what is delivered. The concern is that if the HSE fails to meet their pay expectations, this could accelerate an exodus of critical staff.
The HSE is already facing pressure on staff numbers, the analysis argues. Prospect says the HSE employed around 2,400 staff in 2021/22, which includes around 300 people in growth areas, but this is a notable drop from the 3,700 staff in 2009/10. What’s more, the trade union warns that although further ‘efficiency’ cuts are planned, some HSE areas ‘could not sustain a further hit’.
Looking specifically at HSE inspectors, Prospect’s analysis concludes that the total number has fallen from 1,187 in 2010 to 974 in 2022.
The report warns that the ‘main grade regulatory inspectors’ (Bands 1 to 4) who manage or undertake inspections, investigations, enforcement and prosecution, have seen a fall in numbers. Specifically two divisions that undertake critical frontline regulatory inspections – Field Operations (factory visits) and the Construction Division – have seen a fall, from 962 in 2003 to 661 in 2022.
On top of this, the ratio of qualified regulatory inspectors (B3) to trainee regulatory inspectors (B4) has become increasingly imbalanced since 2010, the report finds, placing an additional pressure on the HSE’s ability to deliver. As well as delivering critical regulatory and advisory work, the B3 inspectors also have to train the B4 trainees and the training demands of this group have increased over the past 10 years.
Prospect shows that there were 378 B3 inspectors in 2013 who supported 41 B4 trainees. However, in 2022, this ratio had changed dramatically to 200 B3 inspectors and 113 B4 trainees. As the report notes, ‘This is likely to become increasingly problematic as the qualified inspector cadre shrinks due to retirement and resignations while recruitment is increased to bolster numbers.’
This reduction in inspectors is already being felt in terms of annual inspections, argues Prospect. Prior to 2010 the HSE reported more than 25,000 annual inspections. However, the analysis finds that proactive inspections currently hover around the 16,000-17,000 mark per year. The report notes that the HSE’s business plan for 2022-23 sets a target of 14,000 annual inspections to complete.
However, Prospect warns, ‘it is likely that these targets will become increasingly difficult to achieve, primarily as experienced inspector resource likely decreases, and the training burden likely increases as the ratio of inspectors to trainees increases’.
The HSE also said that there are a number of reasons why some matters are not investigated. It explained that it focuses on incidents which are likely to lead to enforcement action and on inspection work to prevent incidents happening in the first place. The HSE said that during 2021/22, it undertook 2,000 more proactive inspections than the previous year (16,900 compared to 14,880).
Another long-term concern identified in the report is the HSE’s aging workforce. Around a third (31%) of its total staff is aged 55 or older, with significant additional numbers in the 50-55 age range. Most of these, the report notes, will have access to early retirement.
Responding to the report, an HSE spokesperson said: ‘Britain continues to be one of the safest places to work in the world. The HSE has an excellent reputation, shown by our growing responsibilities, which include post-Brexit chemical regulations and the creation of the new building safety regulator.
‘We generate a substantial income on top of our government funding, which helps pay for our regulatory work. Our staffing levels have changed as our responsibilities have changed. We are currently seeing significant recruitment into the HSE.’
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