In February we reported the HSE’s estimate that only 40% of LEVs in operation in the UK were adequate.
As an update to this, we show the most recent HSE enforcement data below. It details prohibition notices issued, under COSHH regulations, (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) which tell the duty holder to stop an activity immediately, and improvement notices which specify remedial action and give the duty holder a date by which they must complete the action.
The data is split into the following categories:
- Reg 6 Assessment of the risk to health created by work involving substances hazardous to health
- Reg 7 Prevention or control of exposure to substances hazardous to health
- Reg 9 Maintenance, examination and testing of control measures.
Improvement notices
| Regulation 6 | Regulation 7 | Regulation 9 | |
| 2009/10 | 288 | 295 | 472 |
| 2008/09 | 265 | 298 | 434 |
| Change | 8.7% | (1.0)% | 8.8% |
Prohibition notices
| Regulation 6 | Regulation 7 | Regulation 9 | |
| 2009/10 | 12 | 130 | 2 |
| 2008/09 | 5 | 56 | 3 |
| Change | 140.0% | 132.1% | (33.3)% |
The increase in prohibition notices issued under Regulation 7 is in line with the HSE’s expectation that there are a huge number of inadequate systems in place, and reinforces the need for all employers to give due consideration to their working environments.
If you believe you have an LEV issue, please contact us for further discussion.