Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of the private sector health and safety accreditation market.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not undertaken any specific recent assessment of the effectiveness and value for money of the private sector health and safety accreditation market.

Professor Ragnar Löfstedt’s 2011 independent review of health and safety legislation for the Department noted concerns about the proliferation of accreditation schemes in the construction sector. Those at the top of the supply chain may impose accreditation requirements as a way of protecting themselves from reputational or commercial damage if a supplier subsequently breaches health and safety legislation. Findings from recent HSE research, including on supply chain assurance of which accreditation is a part, show that the resulting documentary obligations can become a workstream in their own right for suppliers. Reliance on such schemes can give false reassurance if not supported by credible assessment and audit. HSE will be publishing its findings this year.

HSE is committed to working with the industry to simplify arrangements for pre-qualification in health and safety. HSE helped to establish the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Forum, which launched in May 2009, to establish mutual recognition of accreditation between different pre-qualification schemes. Mutual recognition can deliver savings to both procurers and contractors; figures compiled by SSIP highlight more than £50 million of savings to clients, other buyers and suppliers in 2016.