Issue - meetings
Recovering the cost of health & safety regulation
Meeting: 20/09/2011 - Decision Session - Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Planning and Sustainability (Item 5)
5 Recovering the cost of Health and Safety Regulation 
PDF 69 KB
To inform the Cabinet Member of the Health and Safety Executive’s consultation about proposals to allow the HSE and local authorities to recover the cost of their regulatory work. To seek approval of a response to the consultation on the proposed changes.
Additional documents:
Decision:
RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member approved option 21a to respond to the Health and Safety Executive’s consultation and not support the proposal to make cost recovery for Local Authorities mandatory.
REASON: To allow the Council’s Health and Safety team to continue to provide free support to help local businesses meet health and safety requirements.
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member considered a report which outlined a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consultation on proposals to allow the HSE and Local Authorities to recover the cost of their regulatory work. The report sought approval for the response to the consultation.
Officers outlined the report, in particular the fact that if cost recovery is introduced it would be a statutory duty and as a consequence, Local Authorities would have no discretion on whether to charge or not. Officers advised that at present they tend to work alongside local businesses to help them comply with and understand legal requirements and a move towards a more formal approach in the first instance may harm relations with businesses.
The Federation of Small Businesses and the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce had been consulted and both opposed the proposed charges.
The Cabinet Member commented that she agreed with the Officers views and felt that the charge may deter local people and businesses coming to the Council for advice and make the Health and Safety situation worse.
RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member approved option 21a to respond to the Health and Safety Executive’s consultation and not support the proposal to make cost recovery for Local Authorities mandatory.
REASON: To allow the Council’s Health and Safety team to continue to provide free support to help local businesses meet health and safety requirements.