Targeted enforcement

Future enforcement resources are to be targeted at the workplaces identified in the report as being the most “hazardous”. However, unions and safety campaigners have expressed concern that particular sectors have been identified in the report as “low” risk (and so in no need of proactive inspection) without any obvious reason.

According to the DWP report, “major hazard” industries will continue to be regulated at a high level and will continue to be subject to unannounced inspection, although a “light-touch” approach is to be adopted for “responsible businesses” that “do the right thing”. Examples given of “major hazard” industries are construction, waste, recycling and certain areas of high-risk manufacturing, for example molten and base metal manufacture.