2: The health and safety inspection and enforcement regime

Changes and developments since last year

• following the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) consultation in 2013, the government has changed the scope of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) licensing function. The GLA is now part of the Home Office;

• a proposed “growth duty” is being approved by Parliament as part of the Deregulation Bill. It will require “non-economic regulators” like the HSE to take into account the impact of their activities on the economic prospects of firms they regulate. The new Regulators’ Code, which came into force on 6 April 2014, requires “methods of enforcement that are tailored to meet the needs of the business”;

• the number of prosecutions secured by the HSE and local authorities increased last year; and

• the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that several companies will face corporate manslaughter charges.