Strategy, policy and legal framework

HSE sets the strategy, policy and legal framework for health and safety in Great Britain.

Our position as a regulator ensures we will remain the key player. But we encourage all those who have an interest to get involved in delivering safer and healthier workplaces. Our strategy, Helping Great Britain work well, aims to deliver this.

Our overarching, strategic principles

The principles of the health and safety system are sound and have stood the test of time:

  • those who create risks have a responsibility to manage them
  • action should be proportionate to the risks that need managing

Focusing on risks

We promote a sensible, proportionate approach and want dutyholders to focus on controlling significant risks, so they:

  • think about how accidents and ill health could happen
  • concentrate on those risks that are most likely and cause most harm

Evidence-based policy

Our policies are underpinned by sound scientific and economic evidence. We listen to the views of others and respond accordingly.

A simplified legal framework

Our approach is risk-based and goal-setting. We have greatly simplified health and safety law in recent years and reduced unnecessary burdens on dutyholders. We achieved this by:

  • removing outdated legislation
  • cutting out duplication
  • removing requirements which did not improve health and safety outcomes

Further information

Our role as a regulator[16].

Link URLs in this page

  1. How HSE regulateshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/index.htm
  2. Overview - Our role as a regulatorhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/our-role-as-regulator.htm
  3. Strategy policy and lawhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/strategy-policy-legal.htm
  4. Advice and guidancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/advice-information-guidance.htm
  5. Influencing and engaginghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/influencing-engaging.htm
  6. Permissioning and licensinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/permissioning-licensing.htm
  7. How we inspecthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/how-we-inspect.htm
  8. When and how we investigate https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/when-how-investigate.htm
  9. Overview - Enforcement actionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement.htm
  10. Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcepolicy.htm
  11. Enforcement Management Model (EMM)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement-management-model.htm
  12. Working with other regulatorshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/working-with-other-regulators.htm
  13. Expert guidance on risk managementhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/expert/index.htm
  14. Register of convictions and noticeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/convictions.htm
  15. Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/resources.htm
  16. Our role as a regulatorhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/our-role-as-regulator.htm
  17. What to expect when a health and safety inspector callshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc14.htm
  18. Regulation of health and safety at workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse51.htm
  19. Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcepolicy.htm
  20. Enforcement Management Model (EMM)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement-management-model.htm
  21. Enforcement guide - England and Waleshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguide/index.htm
  22. Enforcement guide - Scotlandhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguidesc/index.htm
  23. Fee for intervention (FFI)https://www.hse.gov.uk/fee-for-intervention/index.htm

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Updated 2022-11-01