News Release – for immediate release – 25/11/25

 UK Hazards Campaign responds to the second report by the Covid-19 Inquiry on the Core decision-making and political governance

In response to the Covid 19 Inquiry second report on the core decision-making and political governance, recently released, the UK Hazards campaign finds the key findings harrowing to read but unsurprising.  Our thoughts are with the families, friends and work colleagues of those who died and those who have been left with long term, life impacting disabilities because of the incompetence, gross negligence and indifference of a government unwilling to act by prioritising people’s health above their political neoliberal agenda.

We reiterate that if enforced correctly, health and safety legislation would have saved lives; that hundreds of thousands of lives would have been protected from infection if the Government and its agencies had acted properly.

Janet Newsham, UK Hazards Campaign Chair asks ‘Who is going to be held accountable for this unforgiveable failing by the UK Government to protect lives?’

We are still living with Covid in our communities and workplaces and the negligence by employers and Government continues to place people at risk.

Early in the pandemic the UK Hazards Campaign wrote to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) urging rigorous enforcement of workplace health and safety law, complemented by specific public health approaches recommended both inside and outside the workplace.

With foresight not hindsight, the Campaign identified both failures in policy and ways to rectify those failures through precautionary action, relying on good science, early and effective interventions, protecting key/essential workers, and more.  This advice was dismissed by the HSE.

The UK Hazards Campaign on the first year anniversary of the pandemic held its own Workers Court which brought together witnesses from across the UK industrial sectors in the trade union and health and safety movement.  This can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MTf64B6u9k .

It is a stark reminder of the first hand experience of safety reps, officers and experts during the first year of the pandemic.  It is also a record of the failings by the Government, HSE and employers in many sectors to prevent the death and disability of workers from the Covid 19 virus.  The final verdict of the court can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rICdGDvcams

The behaviour of the Conservative Government and its Public Health and Occupational Health organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive, grossly neglected the role of workplaces (including education, health and social care settings) in reducing the airborne spread of Covid, and failed to update and enforce health and safety preventions and protections.

In doing so they squandered the lives and health of many workers and condemned many more to long term disability, failed to halt the spread of the virus and the Covid pandemic, which continues now.

So, whilst we welcome this second report by the Covid-19 Inquiry on the Core decision-making and political governance, the UK Hazards Campaign doubts that anything will change for future pandemics, while Governments rule in favour of the elite and global trade above all else and totally neglect workers’ health and safety.

For more information, press only:

Contact: Janet Newsham – Chair UK Hazards Campaign

Email: janet@gmhazards.org.uk

Tel: 07734317158

www.hazardscampaign.org.uk

The Hazards Campaign is a UK-wide network of resource centres and campaigners. The Hazards Campaign supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work.

Contact details:

The Hazards Campaign
c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre
The Wesley Centre
Royce Rd
Manchester M15 5BP
ENGLAND

website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk

twitter @hazardscampaign

facebook

News release 24 November 2025 – no embargo

“As the workplace harm increases, HSE is turning a blind eye. Inspections last year were 35 per cent lower than a decade ago, with a consistent withdrawal over the period from both its statutory oversight and enforcement duties. The consequence is that as more workers are harmed, fewer negligent employers are being exposed or brought to justice.”

Following the recent publication by the HSE on the annual statistics on work-related ill health, the UK Hazards Campaign accuses the Government and HSE of complacency on the huge toll of work-related ill health on workers. Work related stress, continues to be a major health concern for workers and little is being done to ensure employers are controlling the risks.

Even where a worker has been driven to suicide because of unacceptable bullying, excessive workloads, unrealistic targets and other draconian management practices, the HSE refuses to accept they should be reportable under RIDDOR, investigated and bad employers held to account in the courts or by enforcement action.

On 20th November the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries for 2024/2025. (1) The figures include 1.9 million workers suffering from work-related ill health during 2024/2025 which is the highest ever work-related ill-health figure.

In the annual report ‘The Whole Story’ (2) the UK Hazards Campaign states,, these statistics are a conservative estimate of the actual numbers of people harmed by work.

The HSE in 2022 produced a ten year strategy (3) where it said that its role goes beyond worker protection and public safety on a broad range of issues. The UK Hazards Campaign challenges the HSE to show how workers health and safety has improved since 2022.

At their July 2025 Annual General Meeting (4) HSE painted a much rosier picture. Their self-congratulatory reports supposedly showcased their work, but didn’t mention the lack of progress on any of the main issues facing workers health and safety.

In fact, you would have been forgiven for thinking they were doing a lot better than the statistics reveal. David Murray the Director of Finance and Planning at the HSE said they were an ‘effective proportionate regulator dedicated to protecting people and places across Britain’ achieving ‘100 per cent of their milestone commitments set out in the HSE Business Plan’.

The UK Hazards Campaign says ‘As the workplace harm increases, HSE is turning a blind eye. Inspections last year were 35 per cent lower than a decade ago, with a consistent withdrawal over the period from both its statutory oversight and enforcement duties. ‘

‘The consequence is that as more workers are harmed, fewer negligent employers are being exposed or brought to justice.’

The UK Hazards Campaign challenges the Government to set the HSE more ambitious milestones, ones that will see real improvement in the numbers of workers made ill, disabled and killed by work. The UK Hazards Campaign also demands that the HSE institute a more rigorous enforcement policy that holds dangerous and negligent employers to account.

Notes

1. https://press.hse.gov.uk/2025/11/20/hse-publishes-annual-workplace-health-and-safety-statistics/

2. https://www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The-Whole-Story-2025-FINAL.pdf

3. https://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/assets/docs/the-hse-strategy.pdf

4. https://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/attend-a-meeting.htm

For more information, press only:

Contact: Janet Newsham – Chair UK Hazards Campaign
Email: janet@gmhazards.org.uk
Tel: 07734317158
www.hazardscampaign.org.uk

The Hazards Campaign is a UK-wide network of resource centres and campaigners. The Hazards Campaign supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work.

Contact details:

The Hazards Campaign
c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre
The Wesley Centre
Royce Rd
Manchester M15 5BP
ENGLAND

website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk

twitter @hazardscampaign

facebook