16 September 2014
Fee For Intervention is working effectively, says report
According to an independent report, the Fee For Intervention (FFI) scheme, which was designed to shift the cost of regulating workplace health and safety from the public purse to businesses who break the law has proven effective and should stay.
The report recognised that inspectors at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have implemented FFI consistently and fairly since it started in October 2012, and found no evidence to suggest that enforcement policy decisions had been influenced in any way by its introduction.
Judith Hackett, chair of HSE, commented that “this review gives us confidence that FFI is working effectively and should be retained. We will continue to monitor the performance of Fee for Intervention to ensure it remains consistent and fair”.
The reports concludes that FFI has proven effective in achieving the overarching policy aim of shifting the cost of health and safety regulation from the public purse to those businesses who break health and safety law. Also fears that FFI would be used to generate revenue have proven to be unfounded; while not popular with some inspectors and duty holders, it has embedded effectively and applied consistently; there is no viable alternative that can achieve the same aims.
