Since the advent of Fee For intervention on October 1st 2012 little has been heard about the level of activity on FFI or about how much the scheme will actually generate. We now know from our own experience that FFI impact is only just being felt and that it is now being followed up by a major drive to target refurbishment projects in particular.
This has been coupled with some candid comments from David Ashton, HSE’s Head of Field Operations who stated at a recent conference on FFI progress that “the money is really coming in”. Good news for a regulator whose budget has been slashed by 35% but perhaps bad news for a mix of businesses including building services engineers, Solar PV installers, electrical contractors and similar all of which have suffered in the recent refurbishment enforcement drive.
HSE’s FFI Scheme starts to accelerate, refurbishment, solar PV / renewables and contracting to be hardest hit
When we looked in detail at the statistics for FFI the current situation and what we can expect in the near future becomes far clearer;
- October 1 to November 30 2012, the HSE issued bills totalling £700,000 from 1,491 invoices with 903 visits completed;
- Based on that level of income the scheme would generate on £4.3 million in its first year – some £32.7 million behind target;
- In order to reach the target HSE will need to extend the scheme to reach far more businesses and for fines to be at a much higher level (fines in the first two months were low with less than 10% of cases resulting in fines of over £1,000 and 70% being less than £500);
- We can expect the coming months to build on current numbers and fine levels if targets are to be reached with each two month cycle requiring at least £3.6 million – a more than five fold increase;
- If you are unsure if HSE can or will proceed to reach the target HSE’s Head of Field Operations also touched on the impact of the scheme on his staff “It has been difficult,” “Some have said they didn’t join the HSE to be a revenue collector but I ask them to turn around and look at what is best for our customers, and that is an adequately-resourced regulator.”
With HSE admitting that it is now actively looking to recruit new inspectors clients should be aware, particularly those involved in contracting, that HSE inspection will become a more and more likely with event RIDDOR reports and complaints from staff and members of the public likely to trigger a visit from an Inspector.
Your only defence against this is good health and safety management and having the skills and resources to be able to react quickly when a breach is identified. If you need more support and are a client of C&G Safety please contact us and ask about our discounted offer for additional cover and also about our insurance policies which may be able to protect you from all costs associated with FFI.
If you need to know more about the FFI scheme please click to download our FFI White Paper if you would like to speak directly to an experienced safety consultant about supporting and protecting your business from FFI simply request a call back or call us on 01453 800100
