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05/01/2012
Govt To Remove Claim Liability From Business
David Cameron has announced, among other measures to "cut red tape", that business will no longer be "automatically liable" for claims over incidents on their property.
The Prime Minister said the move was to tackle the "compensation culture" and would free small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the "stranglehold of health and safety red tape" as part of a series of measures announced to benefit business.
Mr Cameron made the announcements while speaking to an audience of small businesses and entrepreneurs at Intuit UK in Maidenhead.
The announcement comes just as the Health and Safety Authority revealed that workplace related deaths had increased by 15% last year, representing a second consecutive year of increase.
A total of 55 workplace deaths were reported to the Health and Safety Authority during 2011 according to figures released on Wednesday.
Speaking about workplace deaths in 2011, Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the Health and Safety Authority said: “This is the second year in a row that the total number of workplace fatalities has increased. The fact is that behind these statistics there are human tragedies, lives lost and families ruined. Everyone has the right to go to work without danger to their safety or health.”
Over the last number of years the high fatality rate in Agriculture has resulted in the Authority increasing inspections and awareness raising activities in that sector.
In contrast to Mr Cameron's announcement, the Authority said there would be a continuation of its efforts to help small businesses implement workplace safety and health measures.
Other measures announced by the Prime Minister included an extension of the current scheme that caps the amount that lawyers can earn from small value personal injury claims, and reduce overall costs in cases funded by ‘no win no fee’ deals.
"This will help bring down the cost of many cases and deter the speculative health and safety claims made against good businesses that would appear not to have done anything wrong," Mr Cameron claimed.
(DW)
The Prime Minister said the move was to tackle the "compensation culture" and would free small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the "stranglehold of health and safety red tape" as part of a series of measures announced to benefit business.
Mr Cameron made the announcements while speaking to an audience of small businesses and entrepreneurs at Intuit UK in Maidenhead.
The announcement comes just as the Health and Safety Authority revealed that workplace related deaths had increased by 15% last year, representing a second consecutive year of increase.
A total of 55 workplace deaths were reported to the Health and Safety Authority during 2011 according to figures released on Wednesday.
Speaking about workplace deaths in 2011, Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the Health and Safety Authority said: “This is the second year in a row that the total number of workplace fatalities has increased. The fact is that behind these statistics there are human tragedies, lives lost and families ruined. Everyone has the right to go to work without danger to their safety or health.”
Over the last number of years the high fatality rate in Agriculture has resulted in the Authority increasing inspections and awareness raising activities in that sector.
In contrast to Mr Cameron's announcement, the Authority said there would be a continuation of its efforts to help small businesses implement workplace safety and health measures.
Other measures announced by the Prime Minister included an extension of the current scheme that caps the amount that lawyers can earn from small value personal injury claims, and reduce overall costs in cases funded by ‘no win no fee’ deals.
"This will help bring down the cost of many cases and deter the speculative health and safety claims made against good businesses that would appear not to have done anything wrong," Mr Cameron claimed.
(DW)
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