Sarah Albon, Chief Executive
This is no ordinary new years’ message. Because on 1 January, 50 years ago, the regulator I am proud to lead was formed.
Over the past half century, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has led the way in establishing Great Britain as a safe place to work. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we recognise there is still much for us to take on.
We’re proud of our successes over the last 50 years but the fact remains that any work-related death is a tragedy, and there are still far too many workers suffering ill-health brought about by work activity.
Protecting people and places
In 2022, we launched Protecting people and places, HSE strategy 2022 to 2032, our 10 year strategy to build on HSE’s strong foundations and address our current and future challenges.
It was important for us to set out our stall with this strategy, because over the 5 years I’ve been HSE’s chief executive, much of my time has been spent looking at requests from all sections of society to expand our role beyond workplaces and into issues that can cause harm to communities and the environment too.
While we’ve carefully considered all these requests, we are not best placed to lead on everyone. But we’ve certainly taken on big new areas of responsibility and expect to see our work grow over time.
Changing as the world changes
So today, HSE’s role goes beyond worker protection to include public safety assurance on a range of issues. Recent years have added new responsibilities, such as becoming the appointed Building Safety Regulator and playing an extended role in chemical regulation, post Brexit.
The world of work has transformed dramatically over the past 50 years. As workplaces and work practices have evolved, so too have we, continually adapting and improving the way we work
New technologies in the workplace, including the introduction of artificial intelligence, the growth of the gig economy and government’s net zero targets, all introduce new challenges, but HSE is well placed to meet these.
HSE is a centre of excellence in science research, and everything we do is underpinned by scientific expertise. We work hard to research new patterns and trends that could put people and places at risk in the future.
Founding principles as relevant as ever
It is hard to foresee what the world of work will look like in the next 50 years but as ever, our fundamental principle will continue to be to make sure that those who create risk, take responsibility for controlling risk, and those who fail to do so will be held to account.
We will continue to work with businesses, with industry, with other regulators and with government, to enable innovation and strong economic growth, while we continue to deliver our founding principles as we work to protect people and places.
HSE is a leading voice, but it is important to recognise that we do not act alone. We’ll continue to focus on collaboration with partners, in industry, government and you. As we face the future, whatever changes we face, we will draw on our values and our collective expertise. We will rise to the challenge and together, we’ll protect people and places.
Sarah Albon
Chief Executive