Fee for Intervention – The first eighteen month’s experience

In June 2014, the HSE published the report of the Independent FFI (Fee for Intervention) Review Panel.

The Conclusions of the Independent Fee for Intervention (FFI) Review Panel

Fee for Intervention (FFI) has satisfied the requirement that the cost burden of enforcement is shifted away from taxpayers and towards non-compliant duty-holders. The approximately £10m net figure that was raised between October 2012 and the end of January 2014 is likely to rise further, pro rata, but then to level off at the point at which all inspection and investigation work is covered by the FFI regime.

It is difficult to provide definitive judgements, given the relatively short time that the scheme has been running and the limited role that inspections and investigations have in raising health and safety standards, on whether FFI has provided greater incentives for compliance or helped create a level playing field for firms. There is, however, some evidence to support the assertion that FFI provides some incentive for the improvement of health and safety management and that the consistent application of FFI produces a level playing field, at least amongst those firms that have been found to be in material breach thus far.

The current threshold for FFI is appropriate. Setting the threshold at the level of enforcement notice would create a less fair system, create additional challenges for inspectors and have a direct, negative effect on HSE income.

Recommendations of the Independent Fee for Intervention (FFI) Review Panel

It is critically important that the revenue raised by Fee for Intervention (FFI) is seen in terms of its effectiveness in shifting the cost burden of certain aspects of health and safety regulation to non-compliant business and does not become subject to a revenue target system in future. We urge HSE to ensure that future revenue-raising from FFI does not play any role in future decisions about the size of the inspectorate and the way in which their work is targeted.

We also urge HSE to ensure that its system for targeting inspections is robust and able to identify those organisations who are deliberately seeking to gain commercial advantage by failing to comply with health and safety legislation.

We feel there is a strong case, in terms of creating a level playing field for businesses, of looking to extend the inspection and investigation regime operated by HSE, via FFI, to businesses and organisations currently covered by other enforcement regimes in the longer term. An appropriate point to consider this may be during the review of source regulations that is due to take place in 2015.

We recommend that the threshold for Fee for Intervention and the related definition of material breach remain unchanged.

The full report can be found here