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13 June 2025 / Tom McNeill , Olivia Dwan
Issue: 8120 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Health & safety
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The bright side?

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The collapsing criminal justice system might return proportionality to health & safety enforcement decisions, argue Tom McNeill & Olivia Dwan
  • Underfunding in the criminal justice system is resulting in enormous delays and the collapse of thousands of trials.
  • One result of this is that health and safety regulators may be forced to take a more proportionate approach to enforcement, and to focus on breaches that create the most serious risks.
  • Serious offences will still risk prosecution. For businesses, early and effective engagement is essential to ensure the best possible outcome.

When the Robens review of workplace health and safety concluded in 1972, the consensus was clear: criminal proceedings are not appropriate for the ‘generality’ of offences arising under health and safety legislation, and should be reserved for ‘flagrant, wilful or reckless’ breaches. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 followed, replacing prescriptive regulations with a general duties approach, and creating the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The approach to enforcement has evolved over time. In the mid-1990s,

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