Tom Price, NFU Farm Safety and Transport Advisor said: “The programme of inspections is still being finalised by the HSE, but it is our understanding that inspections will start imminently and have a seasonal focus to tie in with periods of high activity. Therefore inspections could well take place during harvest.
“The arable and livestock sectors are of particular interest to the HSE and the inspections will be carried out by the local HSE field operations teams across the UK.
“This announcement appears to be change in strategy for the HSE, which has withdrawn from proactive inspections in recent years. We are awaiting more detail and we will update members in due course.”
All businesses have a duty to operate safely and comply with obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act. A useful starting point for members when dealing with health and safety is to carry out a risk assessment.
A model risk assessment is available here and the HSE Farmwise introductory guide is available here.