Greg Hands M.P. has welcomed the news that many local businesses will be exempted from unnecessary health and safety rules. The Government is removing the need for most businesses to be inspected and will scrap or overhaul more than 3,000 other regulations.
The new Business Minister, Michael Fallon, has marked his first week in the job by announcing that shops, offices and pubs will no longer face burdensome health and safety inspections. From April 2013, binding new rules on both the Health & Safety Executive and local authorities will exempt hundreds of thousands of businesses. In future, only those operating in high-risk areas, or those with a poor record, will be inspected.
Furthermore, from next month, companies will only be liable for civil damages in health and safety cases if they are proven to be negligent. At present, businesses can find themselves automatically liable for damages after a workplace accident, even if it’s not clear that they were to blame.
Conservatives in Government are also taking radical action on other kinds of red tape to boost economic growth. Some 6,500 substantive regulations are being systematically examined through the Red Tape Challenge, with a firm Government commitment to abolishing or substantially reducing at least 3,000 of them. This process will be completed by December 2013.
Commenting, Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “Cutting red tape shows the Government is serious about helping business to flourish. We’re getting out of the way by bringing common sense back to health and safety.”
Greg Hands M.P. said: “We have listened to concerns expressed by businesses and are determined to put common sense first. Our fantastic local firms need to focus on creating jobs and growth without being tied up in unnecessary red tape.”