HSE wins funding for central incident reporting scheme
HSE wins funding for central incident reporting schemeKeywords: Health and safety,Accidents, Employees
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today been awarded £448,000 to set up a centralised national workplace accident and incident reporting system instead of the 500 different addresses which have to be used at present. The money is from the Government's "Invest to Save" scheme for projects which deliver services which are more innovative, joined up, responsive and efficient.
Jenny Bacon, HSE's Director-General, said:
HSE is delighted that the Government has recognised the value of this scheme. It means that we can set up a centralised accident and incident reporting system – all employers will have a single address and telephone number for reporting workplace accidents. They will be able to choose whether to report by telephone, fax, Internet or post. There can be no excuse in future for employers who do not report accidents.
Workplace health and safety law is enforced by either HSE or local authorities, depending on the type of industry. The new system, which we hope will be operational by April 2001, will be able to handle all incidents or accidents which have to be reported. Currently there are about 210,000 reports each year.
This is a good example of joined up government in action as HSE is in the lead but the new system will cover all local authorities. It is a major contribution to the Government's target of making electronic transactions possible with Government agencies, so it meets the aims of modernising Government too.
The system is being developed following a successful HSE pilot scheme in Scotland which has run since May 1997. Independent research found that the pilot scheme was helpful to industry and reduced both legislative and administrative burdens.
The Invest to Save scheme will supply 75 per cent of the funding for the set-up costs of the project, over the next two years. HSE will be inviting private sector partners to work on the project.
For further information call HSE's InfoLine. Tel: +44 (0) 541 545500 or write to: HSE Information Centre, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK.
