Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of qualified health and safety inspectors.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has sufficient powers to enable them to carry out effective investigations within their enforcement responsibility. These are granted through a number of primary and secondary pieces of legislation, principally The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act. 1974.

HSE is funded to deliver a range of different regulatory interventions and its activities are based on intelligence, targeting the most serious risks. This includes industries with the greatest hazards and sectors with the worst risk management record. HSE allocates budgets and resources based on the levels of expected interventions, including inspection, investigation and enforcement activity.

As part of HSE’s ongoing strategy work, options are being considered around potential opportunities to enhance both the recruitment and development of regulators in future. HSE runs regular recruitment campaigns to onboard trainee regulators, with a national campaign planned for the latter part of the financial year 2023/24.

Once recruited, the Regulators Training Programme (RTP) develops HSE’s new regulators through a programme of operational and formally accredited training, and once qualified undertake a programme of continued professional development (CPD).