1.1 Creating Regulations

13/10/2023, 11:55 1.
1 Creating regulations
1.1 Creating regulations
Site: Astutis Learning Campus Printed by: Leon Oosthuysen

Course: Home: DN1 - Workplace health and safety Date: Friday, 13 October 2023, 11:52 AM
Book: 1.1 Creating regulations
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13/10/2023, 11:55 1.1 Creating regulations
Table of contents
What are regulations?

Regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work Act
How are regulations made?
When does the government regulate?
Regulatory impact assessment
Approved Codes of Practice
Guidance notes
Learning check
Discovery learning
What are regulations?
Regulations are a type of statutory instrument. They're often used to make changes to a law without needing to push
through a completely new Act of Parliament - it's simpler and speedier to introduce a regulation instead.
Regulations may be used to make technical changes to a law or provide more practical detail. For example, the
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 were introduced to provide more detail about what
employers are required to do to manage health and safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
An Act that gives a minister the power to make regulations is called an 'enabling act'. The Health and Safety at Work
Act is an example of this.
Explore more
Watch the below video from TLDR News and answer the following questions:
1. What's the first step towards legislation?

2. What's the difference between a green paper and a white paper?
3. At which reading does the House of Commons have its first debate on a bill?
4. What happens at the report stage?
5. What are the five stages to a bill being passed?
Regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work Act
Health and safety regulations are made under Section 15 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They may:
Repeal or modify any existing clause

Make an authority responsible for the enforcement of relevant clauses
Provide exemptions from any requirement or prohibition
Enable exemptions to be granted by a person or authority
Specify the persons who may be guilty of an offence
Provide for legal defences
Exclude proceedings on indictment for certain offences
Restrict the punishment that may be imposed for certain offences.
How are regulations made?
Health and safety regulations usually come about as a result of consultation with the HSE, other government
departments and other interested bodies. They can also come about as a result of proposals made by the HSE.
Typically the HSE starts proposals by circulating a Consultative Document to employers’ associations, trade unions
and industry associations. The proposals may then be modified in the light of comments received. Draft regulations
are then publicised, amended if necessary, and are 'made' when signed by a minister or person with authority under
the Act.
The regulations, in their final form, are then presented to the Secretary of State to be laid before Parliament. This
means a copy of the regulations with the Votes and Proceedings are physically placed in the Journal Office.
Regulations are then considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, which has members from both
houses. The Joint Committee isn't concerned with the policy or merits of the regulations, only the technical
competence of the minister to make them. They'll establish whether or not the regulations are within the powers
conferred by the parent Act, and whether they contain any unusual or unexpected use of that power.
Health and safety regulations become law when they're 'made'. They can then be vetoed by a negative vote within 40
days of being laid before Parliament.
Regulations have the full force of law until they're revoked or amended in some way. It's possible for them to
supersede specific provisions of the parent Act.
The prime responsibility for health and safety matters now rests with the Department for Work and Pensions,
although it wouldn't be unusual for certain health and safety regulations to emanate from another government
department. The HSE is one of the DWP’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
Regulations come into force on 6th April and 1st October each year to increase employer awareness of and
compliance with new legislation.
Explore more
Watch the below video from the Law Bank and answer the following questions:
1. Who makes statutory instruments?

2. What is the main function of a statutory instrument?
3. What are the most common types of statutory instruments?
4. Can you think of three health and safety statutory instruments?
5. Can you think of an enabling act for health and safety statutory instruments?
When does the government regulate?
The UK Government legislates with a presumption that regulation shouldn't impose costs and obligations on
business, social enterprises, individuals and community groups unless a robust and compelling case can be made.
They use a cost benefit analysis to do this.
The Government will only regulate to achieve its policy objectives:
Having demonstrated that satisfactory outcomes can't be achieved by alternative,

self-regulatory, or non-regulatory approaches
Where analysis of the costs and benefits demonstrate that the regulatory
approach is superior by a clear margin to alternative, self-regulatory or non-
regulatory approaches
Where the regulation and enforcement framework can be implemented in a
fashion which is demonstrably proportionate, accountable, consistent,
transparent and targeted.
Since January 2013 the Government has adopted a one-in, two-out approach, which means any new regulatory
measure that is expected to result in a direct net cost to business and civil society organisations must be offset by
compensatory deregulatory measures providing savings to business of at least double that amount.
Explore more
Watch the below video from the Conservation Strategy Fund and answer the following questions:
1. What is a cost-benefit analysis?

2. How would a cost-benefit analysis apply to health and safety regulation?
3. What would some of the costs and benefits of the Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations be?
Regulatory impact assessment
Since November 2007 all government departments and regulators have been required to apply the Better Regulation
Executive’s guidance on impact assessments to demonstrate that a proposal is in accordance with the Government's
policy objectives.
An impact assessment is a continuous process which requires policy-makers to fully think through and understand
the consequences of policy interventions (for example, the HSE and the introduction of new regulations). It's also a
tool that enables the Government to weigh and present the relevant evidence on the positive and negative effects of
such interventions.
The assessment must summarise:
The rationale for Government intervention

The options considered (including non-regulatory options)
The expected costs and benefits
The net cost to business, as required under one-in, two-out.
There are also fast track arrangements for deregulatory measures and regulatory measures that have a very low cost
to business. The fast track provides light-touch scrutiny by the Regulatory Policy Committee and exemption from
some other requirements.
The Health and Safety Executive is required to prepare impact assessments for its proposals. HSE economists provide
advice and support, determining the ‘appraisal values’ that should be used for the appraisal of HSE interventions.
The appraisal values are unit costs to society for each incidence of workplace injury and work-related ill health. They're
calculated by dividing the total costs to society by the number of new incidence cases for each category of injury and
ill health.
The total economic cost includes both financial costs (for example, lost production and healthcare costs) and human
costs (for example, the individual’s quality of life and fatal injuries or loss of life).
The below table shows the average appraisal values for 2018. In most cases, these are the values that should be used
for appraisal of HSE interventions.
Fatal injuries
Non-financial human cost (rounded): 1 296 000
Financial cost (rounded): 449 100
Total cost (rounded): 1 745 000
Non-fatal injuries
Non-financial human cost (rounded): 5 800
Total cost (rounded): 8 800
7 or more days absence

Up to 6 days absence
Non-financial human cost (rounded): 330
Financial cost (rounded): 570
Total cost (rounded): 900
Ill health
7 or more days absence

Up to 6 days absence
Non-financial human cost (rounded): 320
Financial cost (rounded): 620
Total cost (rounded): 940
Approved codes of practice
Section 16 of the Health and Safety at Work Act permits the HSE to approve and issue codes of practice to provide
practical guidance for Sections 2 to 7 and regulations made under Section 15 (unless excluded by the Railways Act
1993 or relating to transport systems under the Railways Act 2005).
The HSE may also approve codes drawn up by other bodies such as the British Standards Institution (BSI).
Prior to approving a code the HSE must consult with government departments and other appropriate bodies, then
obtain the consent of the Secretary of State.
When approved the HSE issue a notice identifying the code, the provisions for which it is approved, and the date on
which its approval takes effect.
Approved codes of practice offer practical examples of good practice and how to comply with the law. If, for example,
regulations use words like ‘suitable and sufficient’ or ‘reasonably practicable’, an approved code of practice can
illustrate what this requires in particular circumstances.
Approved codes of practice have a special legal status which can be expressed positively or negatively.
For example, the approved code of practice for the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
states:
'If you follow the advice you will be doing enough to comply with the law...'
Whereas the approved code of practice for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 states:
'If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you
have not followed the relevant provisions of the code, a court will find you at fault,
unless you can show that you have complied with the law in some other way.'
However, a failure on the part of any person to observe the provisions contained in an approved code of practice does
not, of itself, render that person liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.
In criminal proceedings approved codes of practice can be used as evidence, and a failure to observe them
constitutes proof of the breach of duty, unless the accused satisfies the court that they complied with the
requirement of the law in some other manner.
In civil proceedings it is likely that a failure to observe an approved code of practice could constitute evidence of
negligence, which would have to be rebutted by evidence to the contrary.
Guidance notes
Guidance notes may be specific to the health and safety problems of an industry or of a particular process used in a
number of industries.
The main purposes of guidance notes are to:
Help people understand what the law says including, for example, how
requirements based on EC Directives fit with those under the Health and Safety
at Work Act
Help people comply with the law
Give technical advice
The HSE may issue a guidance note together with an approved code of practice, or independently. Guidance notes
contain practical advice and sound suggestions, and are frequently more informative than the related approved code
of practice. The HSE aims to keep guidance up to date because as technologies advance, workplace risks and
appropriate control measures change too.
Following guidance is not compulsory and employers are free to take other action, but if they do follow guidance they
will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.
Although guidance notes have no legal standing they can be used as evidence of the state of knowledge at the time
of issue.
Case law
In Glyn Owen v Sutcliffe, an environmental health officer (EHO) issued an improvement notice requiring
the shoe repairer to install ventilation in his shop, following complaints about the smell of solvent fumes.
On appeal at the Employment Tribunal, the EHO referred to a relevant guidance notice and advice from
the British Adhesive Manufacturers Association which warned of the dangers of inhaling solvent vapour,
and suggested suitable ventilation and vapour extraction.
The Employment Tribunal considered the shoe repairer in breach of his general duties under HASAWA
and affirmed the improvement notice.
In Burgess v Thorn Consumer Electronics (Newhaven) Ltd 1983, it was held that if employers do not
warn employees of the dangers referred to in guidance notes they may be liable to employees for
negligence, as the guidance notes indirectly give rise to a duty of care.
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Search terms:
"What are Statutory instruments"
"Health and safety reform Department of Work and Pensions"
"Section 15 Health and Safety at Work Act"
Suggested organisations:
UK Parliament
Legislation.gov.uk
HSE
GOV.uk
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How often does this information change?
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13/10/2023, 11:55 1.

1.1 Creating regulations

Site: Astutis Learning Campus Printed by: Leon Oosthuysen

What are regulations?

What are regulations?

1. What's the first step towards legislation?

Regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work Act

Repeal or modify any existing clause

How are regulations made?

1. Who makes statutory instruments?

When does the government regulate?

The Government will only regulate to achieve its policy objectives:

Having demonstrated that satisfactory outcomes can't be achieved by alternative,

1. What is a cost-benefit analysis?

Regulatory impact assessment

The assessment must summarise:

The rationale for Government intervention

7 or more days absence

7 or more days absence

Approved codes of practice

The main purposes of guidance notes are to:

This mission includes sound.

To view the mission in full screen click here

Click the button to hear your missio

"Health and safety reform Department of Work and Pensions"

"Section 15 Health and Safety at Work Act"

How does the information on these and other websites differ?

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