Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will have discussions with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the potential merits of enabling employers to report to the HSE (a) drug and (b) alcohol misuse as a contributing factor in a reportable incident.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and apply to all sectors and workplaces in Great Britain.

RIDDOR requires responsible persons (usually employers in relation to employees) to report work-related fatalities and certain injuries, dangerous occurrences, and cases of disease. Reporting requirements are based on the outcome of incidents.

RIDDOR does not require the reporting of immediate or underlying causes, such as whether the use of drugs or alcohol were a contributing factor in a particular incident. Causation of an incident will not necessarily be apparent during the statutory timeframe in which a dutyholder is required to report; that information generally only becomes evident during an investigation, either by the dutyholder or the regulator.

Even if such information were required as part of the reporting process, it would be difficult to reliably establish direct causation on a case-by-case basis. Having this information reported would be of limited value to the regulator and disproportionate for the responsible person to ascertain.