The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have announced that they will be closing down their telephone information line.
The phone line is used by businesses looking for advice and guidance on health and safety issues and has provided an opportunity for businesses to speak directly with a member of HSE. However, HSE have announced that the phone line will no longer be available as from the end of September and instead businesses will have to make contact via their website.
From October 1st the information service line will close, however the safety regulator has stated that there will be a phone number in use that businesses can use to notify them of any major or fatal health and safety incidents.
Explaining the decision behind closing the infoline service, Trevor Carlile, HSE director of strategy commented:
“More than half of reportable injuries are already notified to HSE through the website and this proportion has been increasing steadily over the past seven years.” He added: “Taking advantage of the growing use of the internet allows HSE to be more efficient in the way it works.”
This is in stark contrast to other branches of Government. HMRC was recently criticised for being overly reliant on web-based services, and committed to improving the quality of their call centre, taking on as many as 1,000 extra staff to help meet demand.
A recent report revealed that compliance with legislation (such as Health and Safety) was one of the contributing factors to many small businesses not expanding.
Photo by Chase Mersereau – CC
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