The
Health and Safety Executive has issued its second annual Offences and Penalties
Report, identifying hundreds of companies convicted of safety crimes.
The
report identifies 1,500 separate health and safety offences in 2000/2001 by
companies, local authorities, hospitals, universities and individuals
throughout the UK.
HSE
director general, Timothy Walker said he hoped the report would continue to put
pressure on firms to take health and safety responsibilities seriously. He also
wanted the report to deter others who would not want to be publicly identified
for failing workers.
"I
would much prefer that health and safety failures didn’t occur in the first
place – and much of what we do is aimed at prevention. But when breaches do
occur, I make no apology for making available information which identifies
those responsible," he said.
During
the 2000/2001 period the HSE prosecuted 2,077 offences and successfully gained
convictions for 70 per cent. It also issued 11,058 enforcement notices in the
interest of securing compliance with health and safety law.
"All
the cases that we bring to court involve serious breaches of the criminal law.
Our report is designed to help everyone with an interest in an organisation’s
performance, in particular would-be customers, investors, employees or insurers
to find out about convictions and to create pressure for safety
improvements," added Walker.
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