Health and safety | UK Regulatory Outlook July 2024

King's Speech 2024 - the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill

On 17 July 2024, King Charles III outlined the new government's plans for the new Parliamentary session in the King's Speech at the state opening of Parliament. Within this was the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill which will require certain premises and events to take steps to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack and reduce harm in the event of a terrorist attack occurring, rather than imposing a duty to prevent terror attacks from occurring altogether.

Measures for smaller premises in the “standard tier” will be focused on simple, low-cost activities surrounding policies and procedures. The standard tier consultation closed earlier this year, and we await the outcome of that consultation which may reconsider the criteria to define “standard tier” premises (currently, it is those with a capacity of 100 people or more).

Those responsible for larger "enhanced tier" premises and certain public events (with a capacity of 800 people or more) will be required to put in place counter terrorism measures that could be expected to reduce, so far as reasonably practicable, both the risk from an attack occurring at the premises or event as well as the risk of physical harm being caused if an attack was to occur. Those measures may include terrorism protection training, appointing a designated Senior Officer, conducting an enhanced terrorism risk assessment, and the implementation of a security plan.

UK Labour's 'New Deal for Working People'

In the King's Speech, the government has committed to delivering its New Deal for Working People in full with the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill.

While the briefing notes do not explicitly reference health and safety reforms, the New Deal for Working People outlines plans to "review health and safety guidance and regulations with a view to modernising legislation". This includes updating guidelines to account for extreme working temperatures, ensuring workers are protected across various sectors. Additionally, under the plan, the government seeks to engage with employers, trade unions and other stakeholders to improve the overall wellbeing of workers, addressing both physical and mental health concerns, as well as providing support for those experiencing long covid symptoms.

Therefore, with the government committing to introducing the New Deal for Working People in full, it seems likely that updates to health and safety regulations will be forthcoming.

Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain 2023/24

The Health and Safety Executive has published its annual summary of work-related fatal injury statistics.

The statistics show that in 2023/24, 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents, an increase of two fatalities from 2022/23, with construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors continuing to have the highest number of fatalities. Falls from a height were the most common kind of fatal accident, followed by struck by a moving vehicle and struck by a moving object.

These figures provide businesses with a timely reminder of the most common causes of workplace fatalities and that measures need to be put in place to reduce the risk of these accidents occurring.

Building safety

The Grenfell Phase 2 report will be published on 4 September. In the short term this will increase the focus on building safety; longer term, it is likely to lead to changes in guidance and potentially legislation. With regard to the existing regime under the Building Safey Act 2022, we can expect to see the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) being increasingly active.

The BSR has started requiring those with the statutory responsibility for Higher Risk Buildings (Principal Accountable Persons) to apply for Building Assessment Certificates. Requests from the BSR for these applications are made on priority basis, so the BSR has started with those buildings that it perceives to be the highest risk, so the tallest and oldest. The BSR estimates that it may take up to 5 years to certify all the existing Higher Risk Buildings.

Part of the Building Assessment Application includes provision of a Safety Case Report and a Resident Engagement strategy. However, these do not wait for the application process, they are an existing requirement for occupied Higher Risk Buildings so all Accountable Persons should already have these in place and keeping them up to date.

The Building Safety Act provided for a new regulation in relation to the marketing and supply of construction products. These will introduce the concept of safety critical products and place new obligations of all parties involved in the product chain (and powers to enforce those obligations). Draft regulations were published and then withdrawn; it may be that there is further consultation before the final regulations are published. All working within the construction sector should keep abreast of developments as we expect changes during the next year.