A neo‐classical Safety Bill? Available to Purchase

The Government's Proposals for a Safety and Health at Work Bill have been published at last. Based on the ‘Safety and Health at Work’ report of the Robens Committee, it proposes the fusion of various safety statutes, the setting up of a central authority, an extension of scope of application, greater powers of inspection, emphasis on statutory regulations supporting a basic statute, and additional requirements of various sorts, the whole still being enforced through criminal law. In a previous article, the author criticised the Robens Report as being biased towards elegant administration. She sees the Proposals in the same light and suggests that what is really proposed is a rationalisation of law and administration together with an intensification of the existing system which has already failed to reach its objectives. Robens called for a change of direction but the Proposals drive harder along the same route.