Factors influencing Local Authority health and safety interventions and enforcement activity. Part One : Interventions

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Factors influencing Local Authority health and safety

interventions and enforcement activity

Part One : Interventions

Prepared by

Michael Howard and Alastair Galbraith

King’s College London

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Contents Page

Abstract 3

Executive summary 4

Introduction 9

Methods 10

Results 14

Overview 15

The interventions 21

Partnership 21

Motivating senior managers 27

Supply chain 31

Design & supply 35

Sector & industry wide initiatives 39

Working with those at risk 42

Education & awareness 45

Earned autonomy 49

Inspection & enforcement 59

Intermediaries 62

Best practice 65

Incident & ill health investigation 68

Dealing with issues of concern that are raised & complaints 70

Conclusions 71

Appendix 1 Questionnaire 76

Appendix 2 List of interventions strategies and definitions 118

This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Its contents, including any opinions and / or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. © Crown copyright 2004

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REPORT: Part One

FACTORS INFLUENCING LOCAL AUTHORITY (LA) HEALTH AND SAFETY INTERVENTION

AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY

Dr Michael Howard and Mr Alastair Galbraith. King’s College London.

Abstract

Local Authorities (LAs) have a responsibility for enforcement of health and safety law in particular

premises defined in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998.

This study into the factors influencing LA health and safety interventions and enforcement activity

is in two parts. This report is on the interventions and a second report will follow on the

enforcement activity in the autumn of 2004 and is not reported here.

Whilst approaches such as carrying out routine inspection and engaging in formal enforcement

activity have been traditionally the most common methods of ensuring health and safety standards

are being met and maintained there are many other approaches that may be used. The full range of

interventions examined are partnership, motivating senior managers, supply chain, design & supply,

sector & industry wide initiatives, working with those at risk, education & awareness, earned

autonomy, inspection & enforcement, intermediaries, best practice, incident & ill health

investigation and dealing with issues of concern that are raised and complaints.

The research found that there is consistent support for extended use of all the interventions

examined.

The greatest support is for education & awareness, earned autonomy, design & supply, partnership,

motivating senior managers, sector & industry wide initiatives, intermediaries and best practice.

The interventions inspection & enforcement, incident & ill health investigation and dealing with

issues of concern raised and complaints were favoured by LAs both in terms of current use and

feasibility for future use. They were seen as having less scope for increased use due to their already

high usage.

At the bottom of the list supply chain was seen as less feasible for LAs as was working with those at

risk because safety representatives are rare in the LA enforced sector.

It is thought that the interventions partnership, intermediaries, supply chain and working with those

at risk would be easier to apply to medium and larger organisations in terms of arrangements and

efficient resource use. There are more of these sizes of organisation in the HSE enforced sectors.

LAs would be willing to be involved in implementing these interventions, perhaps in programmes

led by HSE.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Local Authorities (LAs) have a responsibility for enforcement of health and safety law in particular premises defined in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998.

This study into the factors influencing LA health and safety interventions and enforcement activity is in two parts. This report is on the interventions and a second report will follow on the enforcement activity in the autumn of 2004 and is not reported here.

Whilst approaches such as carrying out routine inspection and engaging in formal enforcement activity have traditionally been the most common methods of ensuring health and safety standards are being met and maintained, there are many other approaches that may be used.

HSE has already sponsored research to identify the range of interventions that are undertaken by its own staff. This research with LAs uses the 13 intervention definitions identified by the HSE research to recognise any evaluations of the impact of the whole range of intervention strategies used by LAs with the aim of supporting the production of a joint HSE/LA interventions strategy

The research

This report is compiled from the results of 103 questionnaires and information gathered from interviews with 24 participants. The participants represented 14 LAs in the UK.

Results

The questionnaire offered tick box responses on current use and feasibility of each intervention. The intervention strategies are listed at 3 points of opportunity – before and at the creation of risk, at and during exposure to risk and when the consequences of exposure to risk arise. Table 1 below summarises the findings.

Table 1. Mean scores for intervention strategies, current use and feasibility

Intervention Current use Feasibility

Before & at the point of creation of risk

Partnership 3.81 5.80

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Supply chain 2.51 4.67

Design & supply 4.28 6.37

Sector & industry wide initiatives 3.88 6.86

Working with those at risk 2.22 4.61

Education & awareness 4.79 7.04

Earned autonomy 4.13 6.13

At and during exposure to risk

Inspection & enforcement 8.58 8.71

Intermediaries 2.57 5.67

Best practice 2.93 5.47

When the consequences of exposure to risk arise

Incident & ill health investigation 7.39 7.97 Dealing with issues of concern that are raised and

complaints

6.70 7.51

Partnership

The vast majority of businesses that come under the enforcement of LAs are small to medium enterprises (SMEs). It was recognised that SMEs have limited resources and would not become involved in partnership arrangements. Most respondents believed that partnership was a more workable intervention strategy for larger businesses. There was mixed enthusiasm for the effectiveness of local authority partnership schemes (LAPS). They were often seen as resource intensive but were felt to have proven benefits in promoting consistency of enforcement. It was claimed that LAPS was designed for use with larger organisations but it was thought that a model should be devised which could be applied to smaller businesses. Examples of successful LA partnership working include LAPS, intra authority partnerships and partnerships with other organisations such as a community safety strategy group and manual handling in residential care homes.

Motivating senior managers

Most respondents judged this intervention to be more appropriate with a larger business and would be a useful strategy to meet with senior managers who could agree company policies. This was felt to be an unlikely proposition at a local level because of the types of businesses for which LAs have responsibility. Examples of successful use of this intervention included a forum with local businesses.

Supply chain

There were parallels seen between this intervention and current regulations imposed by food safety law. It was considered a successful practice in the building trade where health and safety policies of contractors are reviewed to ensure they reach certain standards. It was felt that this intervention would be more effective with large organisations

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Design & supply

Many LAs found this to be an attractive intervention in terms of design and have managed to improve health and safety standards at source by acting in an advisory capacity on planning applications. The general feeling was that if resource is available from an LA point of view then many would be enthusiastic in engaging in such an activity.

Sector & industry wide initiatives

Of the various strategies this was thought to be most effective in terms of reaching as many businesses as possible, stimulating interest through the business and effecting improvements in health and safety standards. It allows a consistent approach to be observed with an increased sense of fairness on the business as it is clear they are all being treated the same. It was thought to be a resource intensive intervention but if resource were available then LAs would engage in it much more often. Examples of successful use of this intervention included a newspaper delivery initiative. Working with those at risk

Most participants recognised the value of taking a “bottom up” approach to health and safety promotion. However, the vast majority of LA enforced businesses do not have unions or safety representatives, which limits the applicability of this intervention at the LA level. Large organisations with representation would be approached. One successful initiative under this intervention is where LAs approached employees directly and helped them train for CIEH certified qualifications.

Education & awareness

The general assertion was that this initiative would be unlikely to be effective in isolation. It would need participant ownership and would be weak unless some form of enforcement action accompanied it.

Earned autonomy

Views on this intervention are diverse. Many respondents noted that a degree of earned autonomy already exists. This is based on risk rated inspections where those categorised as “C” can to all intents and purposes be removed from inspection. There was uncertainty about this scheme being introduced as a sector wide initiative. Whether a particular industry is inherently low risk or not there will always continue to be good and bad businesses operating within it. Many LAs felt they may be more comfortable with earned autonomy being granted on an individual basis.

Further questions on earned autonomy were asked as part of the study to produce proposals for criteria for areas where HSE and LAs will not proactively intervene.

Inspection and enforcement

This was the only intervention strategy that did not produce significantly different responses for current use and feasibility. The current use score is extremely high and for feasibility this seems to suggest that this is a key strategy and there is little opportunity to increase or decrease its dominance. Inspection is widely understood and appreciated by

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requirements and objectives they much reach in order to improve their standards. The inspection process permits the opportunity for one to one contact with duty holders and allows specific advice to be given in response to specific problems encountered. For larger business it was felt that other forms of intervention could sometimes be put to greater use. It was also felt that this intervention was not always as effective in identifying “health” risks as opposed to ”safety” risks. These are not necessarily visible and are unlikely to be volunteered by management and may therefore be more effectively addressed by some other form of intervention.

Intermediaries

This intervention was considered to be more effective when tackled at a national level as this would help promote consistency. It was felt that there were similar underlying principles for this and the partnership intervention. Most respondents singled out insurance companies as the single most important group in this equation. Successful work under this intervention includes the “workwell” initiative, which involved LAs, HSE, Business Link, a Strategic Health Authority, local businesses etc. in promoting and improving health management.

Best practice

This intervention was said to be used informally on inspections and it was felt this was more realistic approach to this strategy than expecting high performing companies to reveal their trade secrets. Many respondents mentioned the beneficial role which various existing websites could play in this (e.g. HSE information on slips and trips and LACoRS training and coordination website). The production of industry agreed good practice documents was thought to be a potentially useful resource.

Incident and ill health investigation

This is an intervention that the vast majority of respondents stated that they undertake regularly and it is a cornerstone of health and safety enforcement. There is a public perception that Inspectors should examine serious accidents in greater detail and public confidence would be dented if LAs were not to fulfil this role. Many respondents proposed that learning from an independent investigation is a very important experience for businesses. The message that health and safety is and should be a concern is much more easily understood when learning from a real incident.

Dealing with issues of concern raised and complaints

There is little to elaborate on here except that this intervention is utilised as a matter of policy. Like accident and ill health investigation, there is a public expectation that this is an area that LAs should be dealing with. It can help identify issues in premises between planned inspections.

Conclusions

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The greatest support being for education & awareness, earned autonomy, design & supply, partnership, motivating senior managers, sector & industry wide initiatives, intermediaries and best practice.

The interventions ‘inspection and enforcement’, ‘incident and ill health investigation’ and ‘dealing with issues of concern raised and complaints’ were favoured by LAs both in terms of current use and feasibility for future use. They were seen as having less scope for increased use due to their already high usage.

At the bottom of the list, ‘supply chain’ was seen as less feasible for LAs as was ‘working with those at risk’ because safety representatives are rare in the LA enforced sector.

It is thought that the interventions ‘partnership’, ‘intermediaries’, ‘supply chain’ and ‘working with those at risk’ would be easier to apply to medium and larger organisations in terms of arrangements and efficient resource use. There are more of these sizes of organisation in the HSE enforced sectors. LAs would be willing to be involved in implementing these interventions, perhaps in programmes led by HSE.

The general conclusion is that there is potential for increasing the use of all of the interventions. In many cases this may be by LAs being aware of and supporting HSE led programmes for use of the intervention. This will require better and more focussed communication between HSE and LAs. To be cost effective many of the interventions require central co-ordination whether at a regional or national level. In future close working by HSE and LAs may make joint implementation of a wider range of interventions possible.

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Introduction

Local authorities (LAs) have a responsibility for enforcement of health and safety law in particular premises as defined in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998.

As regards enforcing health and safety law, local authorities are not formally instructed on how to go about this, however, the Health and Safety at Work Act states that local authorities should, “make adequate arrangements for the enforcement within their area of the relevant statutory provisions…” [Section 18(4)].

Whilst approaches such as carrying out routine inspections and engaging in formal enforcement activity have traditionally been the most common methods of ensuring health and safety standards are met and maintained, there are many other approaches which may be used. It appears that The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and LAs each use a different mix of these approaches or interventions.

Within this research a number of ‘intervention strategies’ will be examined in detail to assess their use within the local authority setting. This will ask how practical the use of such interventions are seen to be and will act as a counterpart to work already carried looking at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The HSE has already sponsored research to identify the range of interventions that are undertaken by its own staff and the perceptions of those staff of the efficacy of each intervention. This research will use the 13 intervention definitions identified by that research and the HSE Interventions Strategy steering group (referred to later as Appendix 2). The objective of this part of the work is to identify any evaluations of the impact of the whole range of intervention strategies used by Local Authorities (LAs) with the aim of supporting the production of a joint HSE/LA interventions strategy. The purpose of the exercise is to be able to ensure that the strategy finally adopted has fully considered the use of the full range of intervention strategies.

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Methods

Participants

The participants were members of health and safety enforcement teams from local authorities throughout the UK. The exact number of participants invited to contribute to the study cannot be precisely gauged as there were several enforcement officers in each LA that we contacted and more than one officer may have responded from each LA. Similarly the number of individual participants who contributed to the study cannot be accurately judged1_.

103 questionnaires were returned to the researchers in sufficient time to be incorporated into analysis for this report. To date interview data have been gathered from 24 participants. These participants represented 14 local authorities in the UK with 7 English West Midlands local authorities represented, 3 Welsh and 4 Scottish.

Materials

Questionnaire

The questionnaire (displayed in appendix one) was based largely upon (a) the intervention strategies outlined in the Interventions Strategy project brief with items designed to elicit local authority views on the practical use of the strategies and (b) items specifically requested by HSE/LAU (Local authority Unit). Part (b) was for the second phase of this research (not reported here). Its development and final content was heavily influenced by the active contributions of a number of HSE personnel from the HSE Interventions Strategy Steering Group.

After the inclusion of a substantial number of additions specifically requested by HSE, the questionnaire became very comprehensive and substantial. We were aware that the length of the questionnaire might serve to reduce the number of responses received but decided, in consultation with HSE, to accept this weakness.

Efforts were made to create a uniform battery of set questions which were applicable to inquiry into each intervention strategy and the LA enforcement issues. This was intended to achieve two main objectives. Firstly, as the questionnaire had grown substantially in length it was hoped that uniformly arranged questions would reduce fatigue on the part of the respondents and the format of questions quickly became familiar to participants thus reducing any undue

1_{Participants were encouraged to complete and return the questionnaires individually so that the return of one questionnaire would} signify the participation of one person. However, a number of questionnaires were returned which had been completed jointly for

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effort expended on interpreting ambiguous questions. Secondly the set format with its inclusion of Likert scales allows for easy comparison between items on the questionnaire.

Piloting of the questionnaire with a number of local authority employees and other EHPs thought to be representative of the target participants took place. Specific suggestions for improvements to the questionnaire were incorporated into the final draft although more general criticisms (such as the overall length of the questionnaire) were largely outwith the control of the researchers.

Considerable thought went into the introductory page of the questionnaire. This page made it clear to respondents that, whilst the questionnaire was very long, it was very much hoped that they would try to find the time to complete and return it. In the further explanatory text of the questionnaire definitions of common terms, which would be found throughout the questionnaire, were made. For example, concerning the concept of ‘feasibility’, respondents were instructed when making their judgements that they should, “take account of all information you think necessary (e.g. Resources available to you, the structure of your department, the types of business found in your district, the views of members or portfolio holders etc)”.

Interview schedule

Interviews were carried out on a carefully designed loosely structured basis. Interviewees were presented with the list of intervention strategies and related explanations / examples (displayed in appendix two). The issues addressed in each interview varied and tended to be interviewee led after the initial questions. The aim of this was to avoid coercing participants into discussing strategies which they tended not to use or force them into coming up with poor examples of each strategy.

Each strategy was discussed at least to some degree in most interviews, with the interviewer interjecting questions where appropriate to steer the discussion towards why or why not each particular strategy was used. By adopting this format of questioning it allowed certain important issues and themes to be identified in the earlier interviews. Greater focus on these themes was made in later interviews with the most recent interviews conducted focusing on key issues surrounding certain remaining interventions issues.

Procedure

Substantial ‘warm up’ activity was undertaken to prepare local authorities and make them aware that this research would soon be taking place; particular emphasis was placed upon the importance of the research and the value that would be placed on respondents’ opinions in this matter. An article was prepared for the Environmental Health News (EHN). Emails were then sent by LACORS to heads of environmental services departments (or those in which the health and safety enforcement function was known to be based) at local authorities throughout the country on the 11th_{June 2004.}

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Because of LACORS’ data protection concerns the researchers have limited knowledge as to how many individuals or local authorities were reached by these emails.

The email referred to above alerted recipients to the fact that the research was in progress and provided an internet link which took the recipient to a page of the LACORS website where the questionnaire was posted in a suitable format for downloading.

Recipients of the questionnaire were told that they had two options for the return of the questionnaire. First they could send a hard copy of the questionnaire by post to the researchers. Secondly the researchers had set up a dedicated email account specifically for returns of the questionnaire. This was so participants also had the option to return the questionnaire electronically thus respecting many individuals’ ‘green’ concerns over the excessive use of paper products. Postal returns could also be made anonymously.

The initial stated deadline for returns of the questionnaire was 18th_{June. This was an extremely tight deadline and}

effectively allowed only one week at most for completion. It had been chosen as it allowed telephone chase up to be undertaken quickly. In response to a series of complaints and objections raised in relation to the short time to the deadline a follow up email was sent by LACORS. This email stated that questionnaires would be accepted up to and including the 2nd_{July allowing a further two weeks on the original deadline. In effect, however, the actual deadline was}

very loosely observed by a number of respondents with some questionnaires being returned as late as the 21st_{July. Due}

to the time and effort which had been spent by respondents in completing the questionnaires the researchers felt that to exclude those received after the deadline would be both unfair to the respondents and counterproductive to the objectives of this research. All responses were eventually considered.

Great efforts were made to chase up local authorities that had not submitted the questionnaire with phone calls being made to 345 local authorities. Difficulties were encountered in this activity, as the researchers had no direct access to the LACORS database, which was used as the initial contact for local authorities. An independent database was therefore developed based upon web research, phone calls to central Council switchboards and reliance on directory enquiries.

Analysis of the data was made using quantitative and qualitative methods.

As regards the questionnaire, the responses to the Likert scale formatted questions (using a scale of 1 to 10) were all recorded and analysed descriptively with the use of mean values and standard deviations. More detailed interpretation was achieved by a series of t-test analyses.

The quantitative items relating to earned autonomy were interpreted largely by calculating the frequency of particular responses to questions.

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The free response areas from the questionnaire and the data gathered through interviews were interpreted in a broadly similar fashion to each other. Content analyses were made to discover regularities of the opinions, themes and dimensions which were representative of responses as a whole.

Interpretation of the results was based upon these analyses. Quantitative description of the data provided an account of the responses of participants then qualitative descriptions were examined affording more detailed explanations of why such responses had been made by those participating in the study.

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RESULTS

Introduction

The results will be discussed by reference to both quantitative and qualitative data gathered throughout the investigation. As regards the former, attention will be focused on scores recorded by respondents in their indications of current use and feasibility of each intervention strategy (both recorded on a scale of 1-10). The qualitative data gathered through free-response items on the questionnaire and interview data will be utilised to provide further insight and explanation of these figures. In addition specific examples of each intervention in use will be described with reference to interview data (interview transcriptions are presented in appendices 3 to 17).

Responses concerning each intervention strategy will be discussed in turn (in the order prescribed in the Interventions Strategy) later in this section of the report but first an overview of the quantitative data will be made. As noted earlier 103 questionnaires were returned2 and, of these, 97 were suitable for quantitative analysis. The remaining 6 questionnaires had been reformatted independently by respondents such that their replies no longer conformed to the structure of the original questionnaire. The qualitative data from this group of respondents was noted in the interpretation of results.

2_{This figure was lower than initially thought as an unforeseen difficulty with the return of questionnaires was that some}

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Overview

The graph below shows the proportion of respondents who answered the questions on each of the intervention strategies (1-13) in the questionnaire. Each of the 13 interventions asked for 4 main items of information: an assessment of the local authority’s current use of that strategy, an assessment of the feasibility of use of that strategy, further explanation of their judgement and details of any implications they thought that strategy had for smaller, locally based businesses3_.

Graph 1: Proportion of responses by intervention strategy

Percentages of responses

0 20 40 60 80 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Current use Feasibility Explanation Implication

As can be seen the proportion of respondents offering information fluctuated throughout the interventions but, as a general rule, decreased as the questionnaire progressed. For the ‘tick-box’ responses of current use and feasibility, the proportion of responses remained relatively stable across intervention at between 80% and 98%. For the free response sections, however, the information offered varied more widely across interventions with from between 63% and 98% for further explanation and 39% and 81% for implications.

The data gathered relating to each intervention strategy therefore varied and analysis of certain intervention strategies from questionnaire data was resultantly more limited in some instances than others.

The graph illustrates a time-series in terms of responses as the order of responses corresponds to that used in the

questionnaire. It provides some evidence of fatigue as the respondents answer fewer questions as time goes on. This will have resulted in less data being available for the later interventions.

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Table one displays mean calculations for both current use and feasibility. These are arranged in the order specified by the Interventions Strategy document.

It can be seen that all means for feasibility are greater than those recorded for current use suggesting that local authorities recognise the potential, which the various strategies have to promote health and safety.

Table one: Mean scores for intervention strategies, current use and feasibility (sorted in Interventions Strategy order)

Mean calculations

Intervention strategy

Current Use Feasibility

Motivating senior managers 3.72 5.80

Design and supply 4.28 6.37

Sector and industry wide initiatives 3.88 6.86

Education and awareness 4.79 7.04

Inspection and enforcement 8.58 8.71

Incident and ill health investigation 7.39 7.97

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Table two contains the same data as table one but displays the calculations in descending order of the mean score attained for current use.

Table two: Mean calculations for intervention strategies current use and feasibility (sorted in descendancy of current use)

Mean calculations

Intervention strategy

Dealing with issues of concern that are raised and complaints 6.70 7.51

It can be seen that working with those at risk is rated the lowest (mean of 2.22) whilst inspection and enforcement (mean of 8.58) is rated most highly. What might be termed the ‘traditional’ methods of intervention for health and safety are all located at the higher end of the scale (dealing with issues of concern that are raised and complaints, incident and ill health investigation and inspection and enforcement).

It can also be seen that two of these most highly rated strategies are ‘reactive’ strategies where intervention is made when the consequences of risk have already arisen. It may be indicative of local authorities’ traditional working practices and the characteristics of businesses within their enforcement responsibility that these strategies are so highly rated.

On a similar theme it should also be noted that the vast majority of interventions (10 of 13) were rated below 5 giving rise to the conjecture that many of the less ‘traditional’ strategies are not widely used.

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Table three again contains the same data as the previous table but this time displays the calculations in descending order of the mean score attained for feasibility.

Table three: Mean calculations of intervention strategies current use and feasibility (sorted in descendancy of feasibility)

Mean calculations

Intervention strategy

Dealing with issues of concern that are raised and complaints 6.70 7.51

The order of the interventions does not differ hugely from the previous table and those towards the ends of the scale are relatively unchanged in their position.

More encouraging however, is that 11 of the 13 strategies were rated above 5 (as compared to just 3 for the corresponding current use calculations).

Of similar interest are the differences in value between each score for current use and feasibility. These range from the fairly negligible of inspection and enforcement, where an increase of 0.13 was calculated for feasibility, to the much larger value increase of 3.10 calculated for intermediaries.

These values can be taken as a crude indication of which strategies local authorities feel they are capable of employing to a greater extent. The greater the difference between the two mean calculations here suggests a greater acknowledgement of the benefits to be gained from adopting this approach more frequently.

More formal methods of assessing this relationship will be reviewed in the later part of this section where each intervention strategy is discussed in turn.

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Finally in this section it is useful to look briefly at standard deviation calculations obtained for each of the mean calculations.

Table four displays the values obtained when calculating the standard deviation from the means in the previous tables. The standard deviation here can be taken to indicate the overall consensus of the sampled population. Many local authorities are fairly distinctive in their approaches to health and safety and, for example, on account of the nature of their district (i.e. rural or urban authority) they may prioritise strategies differently. The above analyses investigate the degree of variation in this.

Table four: Standard deviation of mean calculations for current use and feasibility.

Standard deviation of

mean calculations

Intervention strategy

Dealing with issues of concern that are raised and complaints 2.63 2.01 Whilst no formal controls were built in to the research methods to analyse this factor it may be useful to bear in mind these deviations when considering other results to be discussed later in the report.

By way of explanation, standard deviations of 1.60 and 1.58 were calculated for inspection and enforcement’s current use and feasibility. These were the lowest figures calculated indicating that, of the local authorities sampled in this project, there would be little debate about the mean score and that the general consensus about this intervention strategy is very strong.

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feasibility on best practice was 2.55 giving the impression that the benefits of its potential application in all local authorities produced a wider spread of scores

The impression which can be built up from this initial analysis is that the majority of intervention strategies listed are not currently used to any great degree by local authorities. Despite this, participants recorded much more favourable respondents for the strategies’ feasibility. In the following sections the researchers hope to provide information to explain this further paying particular attention to factors such as where and when a particular strategy might be useful, taking into account how practical the intervention might be at the local level and whether there are any particular conditions which would facilitate greater use of particular strategies.

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THE INTERVENTIONS

When giving an explanation as to why each strategy was or was not used, or could be put to greater use, respondents tended to offer a varied range of explanations. These explanations can be broadly categorised under the headings of perspective of the business, perspective of the local authority and potential of the intervention / conditions for potential actualisation.

Within these broad headings came a number of related points. This report will make an evaluation of each intervention with reference to the above broad headings and explain them further using related sub headings. In addition (where appropriate) towards the end of each section on a particular strategy, specific examples drawn from interview data will be cited. These examples aim to give a more detailed account of interventions working in practice and illustrate some of the points already drawn out.

Partnership

As we noted in the previous section, the mean score for current use for the strategy of partnership was 3.81 whilst for feasibility it was 5.80. This represented an increase in value of 1.99. This was shown to be a significant difference through further analysis where t (95) = 24.33; p < 0.01.

Perspective of the business

Small businesses

The vast majority of businesses which come under the enforcement of local authorities fall into the category of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). From the perspective of a small business there are a number of key issues which might limit how involved an organisation may become in a partnership arrangement.

It was recognised by respondents that many SMEs have very limited resources. Their primary aim is to keep the business running and health and safety issues tend to take a lower priority than other business objectives. This tends to manifest itself as a lack of interest or desire to become involved in partnership.

Most SMEs, it was often noted, much preferred a prescriptive form of intervention where they are given clear instructions by the local authority on what standards need to be met. Their time is necessarily limited and engaging in protracted partnership arrangements tends to sap this limited resource further.

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Large businesses

Most respondents believed that partnership was a more workable intervention strategy for larger businesses. These, it was said, tend to have more resources and availability of personnel to attend meetings for example. Potential partnership schemes were viewed as being much more successful with the larger companies.

Unfortunately, there was reported something of a paradox here where the larger businesses tend to already have a health and safety framework in place and so the partnership arrangement does not benefit them as greatly as it might do small businesses. In partnership schemes local authorities therefore sometimes find themselves ‘preaching to the converted’. The aim of partnerships is, as with all pro-active interventions, to raise awareness and commitment to health and safety standards but it would appear that those who have lower standards (often SMEs) are very difficult to influence using this intervention.

Perception of the enforcing authority

Another stumbling block in forming partnerships is the suspicion with which the enforcing authority is sometimes viewed. It was felt that it is sometimes difficult to create a true partnership with organisations where the ‘enforcer’ is present.

Perspective of the local authority

Local authority partnership schemes

Responses from local authorities indicated mixed enthusiasm for the effectiveness of local authority partnership schemes (LAPS).

When properly administered such schemes were felt to have exhibited proven benefits in promoting consistency of enforcement although the effectiveness of this arrangement was thought to be largely dependant on the lead authority (and, to a varying degree, the corresponding organisation’s commitment) and there were thought to be several pitfalls which prevented effective administration of a LAPS.

One of these is the resource demanded of a local authority to effectively run a LAPS. In local authorities where resources are limited, LAPS tended not to be viewed as the most efficient use of resources as they consume a large proportion of officers’ time. Indeed many respondents seemed reluctant to act as a lead authority on account of the time involved.

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Sometimes it was claimed that the lead authorities’ role in LAPS degenerates into acting purely in the defence of ‘their’ organisation. It was considered that, in some circumstances, the lead authority can get drawn into legislative wrangling rather than remaining purely objective. The aim of a LAPS, noted some respondents, was of use to one employer alone and, through professional defensiveness on the part of the lead authority, disproportionate resources can be placed into improving that employer’s health and safety to the detriment of others.

For some, the entire guidelines for LAPS were considered very unclear resulting in some schemes being a LAPS in name only. On the one hand, a particular lead authority might be very knowledgeable about their company’s systems, procedures and current issues whilst, on the other, another lead authority may have very patchy information to offer. It was claimed by several respondents that very few lead authorities have completed documented safety management reviews in accordance with LAC44/3. It is noted by the researchers that the LAPS guidelines have recently been ‘relaxed’ to encourage a greater number of schemes to be developed. It is also of note however, that it would seem some of the respondents were not aware of these changes.

Related to this was the situation where sometimes the commitment of the organisation in question is lacking. Some respondents felt that employers perceived entering into the partnership as a way to keep local authorities ‘off their back’ and, once the partnership had been set up, the lead authority were left with little input from the company involved. LAPS is designed, it was claimed by some, for use with larger organisations. As previously noted however, most larger organisations tend to have better standards and hence require less attention than the comparably poorly informed SMEs. Potential of the intervention / conditions for potential actualisation.

The resource level required to run LAPS was often considered as a major inhibiting factor. Many local authorities are encouraged to focus on carrying out set number of inspections to the point where pro-active intervention becomes perceived as an ‘indulgence’. One suggestion to remedy this was for companies to pay an annual subsistence fee toward partnership schemes.

As previously mentioned, many respondents questioned the clarity of guidelines set out for the administration of partnership schemes (in particular LAPS) and consider them unclear. Some claimed that they would be much more enthusiastic about involving themselves in such arrangements if tried and tested models of guidance were available. Similarly it was thought that a model of LAPS should be devised which is applicable to working with smaller businesses as any current guidelines were considered too complex and unwieldy for smaller local businesses.

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SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

Local authority partnership schemes

One local authority acts as the lead authority for the National Association of Steel Stockholders (NASS). In addition, the HSE are involved in this as steel stockholders can fall to either HSE or local authorities. It was felt that with this particular LAPS, it doe not necessarily work as it should as the interviewee felt that other local authorities sometimes failed to contact him/her in instances where they should.

It was also thought in this particular example that the lead authority were having to deal with a lot of individual enforcers’ different prejudices about a company. In responding to this the lead authority have, in some cases, ended up acting as an advocate or defence mechanism for the Association and finding themselves forced into acting less objectively than they would like.

Another interviewee talked of their authority’s role as the lead authority for the Association of British Climbers. This was considered to be highly effective.

Intra authority partnerships

There were many examples stated by interviewees of partnership arrangements which they have in operation with other departments within their local authority. For instance, one interviewee pointed out a useful link with the LA regeneration and transportation department. This arrangement allowed the interviewee to comment upon and make recommendations on issues relating to building control and, sometimes, approval of planning applications.

Business partnerships

One of the interviewees was heavily involved in a safety forum for local businesses. Certain managers of shops within a local shopping arcade were invited to attend a briefing on slips and trips. This proved very effective in making the managers aware that the prevention of slips and trips can be achieved by less drastic measures than replacing a floor for example. Resultantly the arcade’s managers have adopted other preventative measures such as trebling the amount of matting in existence throughout the arcade and developing cleaning crews who are cleaning the floors in a manner designed to minimise the potential for slip or trip incidents.

Partnerships with other organisations

One interviewee described a partnership, which the local authority has with a community safety strategy group. This also involves organisations such as the police, the local primary care trust, the ambulance service and the fire service and

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In this partnership the local authority offers what advice and information it can to minimise the safety risks which might be experienced in such instances.

Trade union consultation

One interviewee recounted how they had been involved in an exhibition with the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU). Transport companies from across the country attended this exhibition which placed a major emphasis on the importance of transport safety. It was felt that this was an excellent initiative as the TGWU has a very powerful influence and are capable of exerting considerable influence on businesses. This could also be viewed as an intervention under Working with those at risk.

It was added though that the interviewee felt a reluctance to become too involved in working with unions on account of the fact that they are political organisations. Clearly the local authority has a degree of political affiliation and the borough in which the respondent works, for example, will be under the control of a particular political party. To have allegiances with other political groups was therefore felt to be something that should be approached with great caution. ‘Workwell’

‘Workwell’ is an initiative which many of the authorities in the West Midlands are involved in. It can be described as a multi-disciplinary team that aims to improve the health and safety of the local working population and is funded through the Regional Development Agency and the local NHS. Workwell operates by advising local businesses in methods to improve their health and safety conditions. The local authorities’ involvement with this partnership varied from one authority to another. At the very least though, the authorities have identified certain premises that they feel might benefit from what ‘Workwell’ have to offer and, individual interviewees hoped, that this partnership would evolve to allow local authorities a more active role. Further details of this project can be seen at the following website:

http://www.haznet.org.uk/hazs/hazmap/sand_workwell-eval-may03.pdf

‘Wellbeing at work’

A similar initiative to ‘Workwell’ above, ‘Wellbeing at work’ takes a similar approach and provides in depth advice to local businesses. In addition they charge a fee for this service. The local authorities have worked with this organisation in the past t, for example, to hold seminars and educational talks with the unions. Further details of this project can be seen the following website:

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Manual handling in residential care homes

A major multi-authority initiative to tackle manual handling issues in residential care homes is currently getting under way in Wales. This is being undertaken in conjunction with the HSE (nursing homes as opposed to residential homes are enforced by the HSE). This initiative intends to, firstly, ask managers about what procedures they have in place for manual handling. Following on from that staff members will be asked similar questions to ascertain if the two views marry up. This is an ongoing initiative which is still in its infancy but, with contributions across the country and the focus on both HSE and local authority sectors, this would appear to be a very comprehensive study which is likely to produce excellent recommendations for reducing the incidence of injury caused through manual handling issues.

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Motivating senior managers

As noted earlier, the mean score of current use for the strategy of motivating senior managers was 3.72 whilst for feasibility it was 5.80. This represented an increase in value of 2.08. This was shown to be a significant difference through further analysis where t (94) = 19.57; p < 0.014_.

Perspective of the business

Small businesses

Within smaller businesses the appropriateness of seeking complex formal management structures was questioned in many cases. Where there is a small workforce the ‘director’ or ‘manager’ tends to be the actual duty holder him or herself. In these cases officers will generally aim to meet with the director of each company however, at this level, the individuals are ‘directors’ in no more than name. Such individuals are involved in the business at all levels and their main priority is to focus on productivity and efficiency rather than health and safety.

Larger businesses

As regards larger businesses this intervention was judged to be more appropriate and if a local company had a number of outlets then it was noted that efforts would be made to meet with the senior managers who could agree company policies. It was added however, that such a practice tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Within larger businesses there are often formal health and safety systems in place. Many respondents considered that it would be a useful strategy to meet with senior management and help them improve systems where necessary. Most respondents agreed that it was essential that those higher in the company need to be brought on board with regard to health and safety. Obviously senior management commitment can, in many cases, help filter the message down to more junior members of staff who themselves are in a less influential position to alter company policy.

Receptiveness of businesses / Stimulation of interest

It was felt that in both SMEs and larger businesses (but more so with SMEs) there is still a reluctance to prioritise health and safety as a key businesses aim. Unfortunately it was reported by many respondents that, in their experience, this reluctance remains up to the point that a particular company experiences a serious accident. This though serves to

4_{NB: The sample number (93 in this instance i.e. one less than the degrees of freedom allowed here of ‘94’ noted in the}

brackets) varies between these analyses. This is because respondents sometimes failed to complete certain parts of the questionnaire. Additionally, in some instances with individual analyses, there were unequal numbers. This particular

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stimulate interest exponentially and results in much more enthusiasm from the company to improve their standards. This gives rise to a rather bittersweet situation where the company may now recognise the importance of health and safety, but this has arisen through a negative incident which has acted as much more of a catalyst than the guidance provided by an enforcement officer.

Incentive required

Many companies, it was said, seek an incentive to devote their time to improving health and safety. In the above case the chance of being prosecuted or claimed against by an employee acts as a powerful financial incentive. However, particularly in premises without any discernible positive health and safety culture (especially SMEs), the message that improving health and safety standards should be seen more as a requirement than as an option is very difficult to drive home.

Perspective of the local authority

Skills of officers in motivating managers

Some confusion seemed to be apparent on the part of respondents when presented with the term ‘motivating’. Some seemed to take it as a strict business term which, whilst not necessarily the intention of the researchers, raised some valid points.

Using this interpretation of the term, some respondents felt that officers may not have the necessary ‘business’ skills to motivate managers. Many officers did not feel it is either their place or indeed within their own personal skills to be able to motivate managers in the broad sense.

The semantic weighting of the term was questioned further in some instances. It would be unlikely, for example, that a manager would admit to having a lack of motivation towards health and safety issues. In many cases those that clearly are motivated are the ones who would be most accessible to local authorities to make this intervention practical. Once again however, it was said that this tends to be a case of ‘preaching to the converted’ where those that are most difficult to reach are those with the poorest standards.

Access to senior management

In terms of accessing the national managers or directors of a company this again was reported to be a very unlikely proposition at the local level because of the types of business for which local authorities have responsibility.

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happens in local branches. In most cases where a health and safety manager is appointed in a large company then their commitment to improvements and practices will be excellent. It is, however, at the mercy of local managers as to whether or not such practices are implemented. Examples given of this concerned a major chain food premises which had two branches in one of the boroughs focused on in the study. Respondents rated one of these premises as being exceptionally well run with a safe environment for employees and customers alike. Conversely the other was prone to many complaints and conditions on inspection were considered to be very poor. Both local managers clearly worked from the same centralised health and safety policy but the likelihood of this being implemented was, it was noted by respondents, a company management issue and very difficult for local authorities to influence at times without resorting to enforcement action.

Potential of the intervention / conditions for potential actualisation.

Make individuals responsible for health and safety standards

Potential improvements for this strategy focused on what could be done by the duty holders in question rather than the local authorities themselves. In the example above it was seen that central management seemed to be seen as losing sight of local management practices. Obviously this is where we might expect the motivation of senior managers to be most effective but it was perceived that only so much could be done in such cases without taking enforcement action at a local level.

One suggestion to improve this was for a policy to be adopted where individuals become much more responsible for health and safety issues.

Requirement for companies to report on health and safety standards in annual reports

Another company related improvement suggested was that health and safety standards and statistics should be reported by companies in annual reports as a legal requirement. This would allow shareholders in larger companies to more fully assess their investments and permit prospective employees to know what kind of a company they might be working for. SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

One of the interviewees is heavily involved with a forum that is held for local businesses twice a year. Often those in attendance at the forum are local directors or managers of businesses so, whilst not necessarily those higher up in the national companies’ employment hierarchy, are nevertheless able to influence things at a local level. Sometimes building up a greater level of trust with businesses is the key to achieving compliance to health and safety legislation and improvement of health and safety standards. One of the methods which this local authority uses to improve this level of trust is to ask the businesses’ opinions on how they would like to be inspected. For example at one meeting the

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One of these merely listed the legal contraventions which the business had been found guilty of on inspection whilst another added to this by proving further recommendations to promote best practice. By seeking businesses’ opinion on such matters it served to increase their knowledge of and trust of the local authority’s actions.

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Supply chain

As we noted earlier, the mean score for current use of the strategy supply chain was 2.51 whilst for feasibility it was 4.67. This represented an increase in value of 2.16. This was shown to be a significant difference through further analysis where t (91) = 17.19; p < 0.01.

Business perspective

Parallels with food safety

A point raised by many of the respondents was that they could see parallels between this intervention strategy and the current regulations imposed by food safety law. In particular it was observed that hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) procedures had been highly successful in the food industry in encouraging improved standards in suppliers.

In addition it was considered a successful practice in the building trade where the health and safety policies of contractors are reviewed to ensure they reach certain standards.

Concerns were raised however, over the applicability and transferability of this approach to a variety of businesses at the local level. It was claimed, for example, that similar procedures which had been applied to the clothing trade had been disastrous.

Small businesses

Smaller businesses are highly unlikely to have the volume purchasing power that would lead them to have any real influence. The strategy would therefore be inappropriate for many local authority enforced premises.

Consequently it was felt that the introduction of this strategy could lead to widely differing standards between large and small businesses and confusing messages transmitted to businesses concerning whether standards are legal requirements or simply desirable and encouraged by enforcing authorities.

Some respondents painted a worst case scenario in which if such an intervention became a major force it could create a dual economy. Small businesses, for example, may just comply with the law but would be under-resourced in any attempts to improve and attain higher standards. Because there are quite fine boundaries between financial success and failure in small businesses, for them to compete with the larger companies other corners would have to be cut. These may affect other aspects of safety.

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Large businesses

The adoption of this intervention strategy was much better received in the context of larger businesses. Many respondents felt that, as the number of such companies at a local level is so low, this was a strategy which would be more effective at the national (i.e. Health and Safety Executive) level.

Several examples of this being successful in practice were offered.

One of these concerned a series of large local organisations who now formally request evidence of risk assessments and safe systems from contractors and outside companies working on their premises. Unfortunately the introduction of these stringent measures came about after a staff member from a contracted company died on a locally based organisation’s premises. The organisation was duly prosecuted and since then have been considerably more careful throughout all aspects of their health and safety behaviour; this had a spin off effect to other local businesses in the same sector and instigated a locally based sector wide improvement.

Another example mentioned was the success which national holiday companies have had in improving standards by requiring minimum standards to be reached by all their contractors before permitting them a work lease. The direct financial implications of this has forced contractors and suppliers into improving their standards but, again, it was added that such intervention is not achievable at the local level except in very exceptional circumstances.

Economic implications

It was stated by the respondents that this strategy seems most useful at the national level. For those companies who do have sufficient spending power, however, there may be nothing to suggest standards would necessarily improve in practice. Many large companies, it was felt, would seek alternative courses of action if their current suppliers were subject to forces which resulted in higher prices for their clients. In short, major companies would simply look elsewhere for their supplies, for example to countries without such standards. Similarities were drawn with the case of call centres where much of this business sector has been transferred to countries with cheaper labour costs than the UK. Local authority perspective

Lip service of suppliers

Respondents pointed out that suppliers are only in their business to make money. Raising standards in some cases would be done only to increase the documented certification they possess to ‘prove’ that they have high safety standards. Through experience on inspections, officers pointed out that the reality between certifications of good health and safety practice and actual conditions often has a low correlation.

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Bonding effect with businesses

On a more positive point, reports were made of where the requirement to develop written procedures in order to secure contracts with large buyers has proved extremely successful. In the examples described by respondents, the employers were very reluctant to engage initially with such an approach but have since seen benefits in the ultimate improvement of their business.

Of benefit to the local authority in this case was the fact that visits to the premises began to centre on dealing with problems which this new arrangement had thrown up. This led to a greater degree of trust and understanding between the company and the local authority with the latter coming to be viewed more as problem solvers rather than problem creating enforcers.

Assumptions of large businesses

Many respondents queried the supply chain item’s inclusion in the questionnaire. This was based partly on the presumption that large businesses are generally more committed to health and safety and would already be applying their influence if they thought it worthwhile. The operative term for many respondents was ‘business’ in which the main aim for larger organisations is to make money and certainly not lose finances unless this is completely unavoidable.

Where businesses engage with others to lease out contract work, it was claimed that any requirements that had to be met in order to engage with other organisations would be purely based on protecting themselves from liability rather than an altruistic concern for people’s health and safety or an improvement of health and safety compliance throughout the chain.

Facilitatory effect

This strategy was therefore not viewed as something very applicable to local authority enforcement. Many stated that they could think only of limited opportunities to use it with others claiming it would be impossible to enforce.

It was considered that the effects of this intervention would be somewhat ‘hit or miss’. Essentially it would be affected by both the interest of the company in influencing its contractors and by the economic pressure that the company could bring to bear on its contractors. This, in turn, would be determined by market forces and the prevailing economic circumstances.

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Despite this many participants acknowledged that if such a strategy could be put in place at some level then it would have a major facilitatory impact on their day to day duties and could raise the standard in health and safety across certain sectors.

Strategy as a culmination of other strategies

Some respondents felt, in essence, that this particular intervention was not necessary. The implication here was that if other more ‘traditional’ forms of enforcement are carried out with sufficient breadth and depth then the outcomes expected by the supply chain strategy would naturally result. A common complaint though was not having sufficient resources to effectively manage the traditional intervention strategies.

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Design and supply

As noted earlier, the mean score of current use for the strategy of design and supply was 4.28 whilst for feasibility it was 6.37. This represented an increase in value of 2.09. This was shown to be a significant difference through further analysis where t (92) = 23.79; p < 0.01.

Local authority perspective

Consultation on planning applications

Many local authorities found this quite an attractive intervention strategy in terms of design and have managed to improve health and safety standards at source by acting in an advisory capacity on planning applications for new developments in their area.

Most respondents viewed this as an excellent means of stemming the tide of health and safety design defects at source and many smaller enterprises have been very appreciative of local authority advice in this respect to help them spend their limited budgets as wisely as possible. This has the dual benefit of making subsequent inspections of a particular premises less detailed and avoiding the difficulties of persuading small businesses to alter any unsafe structural issues at a great financial cost.

There are however, many caveats to this process.

Many small businesses are unlikely to build a workplace from scratch and may take over premises which are inherently flawed for their business purposes. Respondents pointed out that the only planning applications they tend to have the opportunity of commenting on are for new buildings and so, for many the majority of new small businesses, this strategy is largely redundant.

In addition the local authority enforcement officers act mainly in an advisory capacity rather than an enforcement role in this situation. There is often no legal requirement for developers to take note of or follow their recommendations. Several examples were offered by way of further explanation one of which concerned a recent retail development premises. This particular development built several units which allowed for a ground floor area for the retail of goods and a 1st_{floor storage area. The local authority recommended that a lift be installed between the two floors to avoid the}

manual handling of goods up and down the stairs. This suggestion was ignored by the developer and, as a result, the local authority has since had to deal with several manual handling complaints with boxes of stock still having to be carried up and down stairs to this day.