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Health and Safety Inspections

Our aim is to protect the health and safety and welfare of employees and to safeguard others, principally the public, who may be exposed to risks from work activities. This is primarily carried out through routine inspection of the workplace. We are responsible for enforcement of health and safety within nearly 3600 premises in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.

Purpose of health and safety inspections

The primary responsibility for controlling health and safety within the workplace rests with the employer of the business, however, Local Authority Enforcement Officers inspect various workplaces to check compliance with health and safety legislation. Such places include offices, shops, warehouses, premises offering consumer services such as hairdressers etc. Pro-active inspections are carried out in accordance with the HELA Guidance 67/1 and HSC Section 18 guidance.

Planning inspections The local authority keeps a record of all businesses that fall within their enforcement regime and has a programme to make sure that they are inspected on a regular basis. How often they are inspected is dependant on their risk rating.

Frequency of Inspections The frequency of the inspection depends upon a number of factors that look at the risk to employees and members of the public. These include:

  • Safety hazard (the potential of a machine, activity or methods of work etc. to cause harm):
  • Health hazard (the potential of a substance, noise, method of work etc. to cause harm)
  • Safety risk (the likelihood that harm from a single hazard will be realised e.g. number of employees, housekeeping, controls, awareness)
  • Health risk (as safety risk)
  • Welfare provision (quantifies the standard of welfare provision e.g. WCs, washing facilities, rest areas, etc.)
  • Public risk (the likelihood that the public will be harmed by activities in the workplace)
  • Confidence in management (quantifies the enforcement officers confidence in management based on track record, attitude, technical knowledge, system in place, etc.)

The inspection rating system:

  • Enables officers to identify the contributions made by hazard and risk to the overall assessment of the workplace
  • Separates the safety hazard/risk from the health hazard/risk
  • Categorises premises into group A (the highest hazard/risk group), through B1-B4, to C (the lowest hazard/risk)

Once the category has been determined, following the routine inspection, premises are visited as set out below:

CATEGORY MINIMUM FREQUENCY OF INSPECTION
A At least every year
B1 At least every 2 years
B2 At least every 3 years
B3 At least every 4 years
B4 At least every 5 years
C No formal inspection but regular contact required.

Business can move between the categories, particularly if conditions improve or deteriorate.

Performance – how are we doing? The performance of the service in meeting this has improved steadily over the past few years as shown in the tables below:

How did we perform 2003-2004

  • total premises 3577
  • total visits 1014

(including non-inspections)

Inspections

RISK LEVEL A B1 B2 B3 B4 TOTAL
NUMBER OF PREMISES 88 274 592 891 975 2820
NUMBER OF PLANNED INSPECTIONS 121 157 221 215 204 918
NUMBER OF INSPECTIONS ACHIEVED 44 162 212 164 238 820

Enforcement Action

  • letters 860
  • Improvement notices 68
  • prohibition notices 21
  • prosecutions 0
  • Injuries/accidents/investigations
  • Injuries reportable under RIDDOR

SEVERITY OF INJURY EMPLOYED PUBLIC TOTAL
FATAL 0 1 1
NON FATAL 143 87 230
TOTAL 143 88 231
INVESTIGATED 143 88 231

  • Requests for service/complaints 178
  • Asbestos removal notifications 4
  • Category c premises contacted through questionnaire mailshot 250

Contact us

Public Protection Services
Environmental Health Division
Challenge Building
Hatherton Road
Walsall
WS1 1YG

Telephone 01922 652210
Email healthandsafety@walsall.gov.uk