Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many covid-19 risk assessments have been (a) carried out and (b) made publicly available at businesses with (i) less than and (ii) more than 50 employees.

Existing health and safety legislation requires risk assessments. The safer working guidance does not change this.

Employers have a duty to consult their employees, and unions where applicable, as part of their risk assessment. Involving workers in this will help build trust and confidence that all reasonably practicable steps are being taken to reduce risks of COVID-19, so that people can return to work safely.

All businesses should share the results of their risk assessment with their employees. The Government is asking employers to publish the results of these assessments on their websites whenever possible. The Government expects larger organisations – those with over 50 workers – to publish the results of their risk assessments.

In order to help with this, the Government has provided a new notice which employers can download and display to show they have followed the guidance on managing the risks of COVID-19.