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Independent Regulatory Challenge Panel

An independent panel has now been set up that allows businesses that believe they have received erroneous or over-the-top advice from the HSE or Local Authority (LA) inspectors.

Plans for this independent body were announced by the Government in November as part of a response to the Löfstedt review. Now the panel is up and running it will look into many complaints regarding health and safety advice given by LA or HSE inspectors that duty-holders believe is “incorrect or goes beyond what is required to control the risk adequately”

Chairing the panel will be Tricia Henton, former Director of Environment and Business at the Environment Agency. Joining her will be Mark DuVal of Local Government Regulation (formerly LACORS) and their former Executive Director Derek Allen, as well as two ex-employees of the HSE. Other panel members may be appointed in due course.

The panel will only consider cases from 30th June 2011 onwards, and a summary of the cases and the panel’s findings will be made available on the HSE website. An HSE spokesperson said “Because the process is new, it is difficult to estimate the scale and number of cases that will be referred to the panel. Nevertheless, to give greater clarity, terms of reference for the panel will be published in the next couple of weeks.”

The spokesperson was keen to emphasise the independent nature of the panel and added “The HSE is expected to abide by the panel’s decisions, which, in most instances should be made promptly by the panel although there is no defined timescale.”

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