Health and safety bodies respond cautiously to budget

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented the Labour Government’s first Budget in 14 years to Parliament on 30 October, outlining plans to invest heavily in public services and infrastructure. She said the Budget would “restore economic stability and begin a decade of national renewal”, with more than £100 billion to be ploughed into roads, railways, schools and hospitals over the next five years.

Employers will bear the brunt of the £40 billion in tax rises announced in the UK Government’s Autumn Budget, prompting questions about the impact this could have on new jobs and pay rises further down the line.

British Safety Council chairman Peter McGettrick described the Budget as “bold and significant”, acknowledging that “tough choices” had to be made to meet the challenges of boosting investment in public services. However, he emphasised the importance of fairness and balance.

“The Chancellor clearly honoured her promise not to increase taxes in people’s payslips, but while the smallest employers will be protected from an increase to employer NICs, many others will see their bills go up which could put new jobs at risk,” said McGettrick.

Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson cautioned that workers would feel the impact of the increased employer national insurance contributions. He said: “The OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] suggests that three-quarters of the impact of employer NICs will be felt by employees, even if the changes don’t show up on payslips.

“Indeed, these tax rises partly explain why the OBR has downgraded its projections for real household income growth over the next few years. Somebody will pay for the higher taxes – largely working people. The employer NICs rise will further increase the incentive for employers to switch to contracting with the self-employed.”

McGettrick said a lack of investment in mental health and wellbeing in the Budget was a “surprising omission, when we know the cost that poor mental health and wellbeing has on our productivity and growth”. He also raised concerns about the record number of people who are economically inactive due to long-term health conditions, and said British Safety Council looks forward to seeing more detail on how the Government will address this issue when it publishes its forthcoming ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper.

IOSH statement

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) also commented on the budget, its head of Policy Ruth Wilkinson siad: "The country needs the government’s bold investment plans on building and regeneration to work. However, we can’t afford them to succeed at any cost, either morally or financially. If last month’s Grenfell Tower inquiry report told us anything, it’s that people’s safety must always come first. The casual, sloppy attitudes to building and fire safety risks that contributed to the Grenfell disaster must never be allowed to creep back in.

"We must continue to invest in managing the health and safety risks that construction workers face. These have to be reduced, not allowed to rise even higher. Part of the required control measures includes competency. The skills, safety awareness and competencies of all workers on every building site must be in place and maintained. The government’s building bonanza could lead to a construction skills shortage. However, this must not drive a race to the bottom in terms of skill levels and working conditions.

"Such short-sighted corner-cutting would be a disaster for workers, the construction sector, our economy and our international reputation."

RoSPA response

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has responded to the Labour Government’s Autumn Budget 2024, emphasising the need for robust accident prevention measures within public health, workplace, road, and home safety domains.

RoSPA Director of Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs Steve Cole expressed both appreciation and concern in his reaction to the budget’s allocations, urging the government to make accident prevention a core component of its healthcare and safety strategy. He said: "Whilst we appreciate the government’s efforts to address economic challenges, we are concerned that once again the UK’s growing accident crisis has gone unrecognised. Public safety should be an absolute priority, and preventing accidents is much more effective than attempting to dealing with the outcomes of accidents.

“We are concerned about the adequacy of funding allocated to public health and safety programmes. Whilst we recognise increased funding on hospitals and staffing is important, in the long-term, the only way to reduce costs on the NHS to reduce the burden on illness in the first place. 

"Accidents are a huge and rising cost to the NHS at present, but they don’t have to happen – making the right interventions can substantially reduce the burden of accidental injuries on the healthcare system. Government needs to invest in accident prevention now to reduce the future demand on the NHS and costs to the taxpayer.

“The Health and Safety Executive has faced a real terms funding cut of 45 per cent since 2009/10 and its funding must be ring-fenced from further cuts as part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s overall budget cut. Strengthening workplace safety aligns directly with the principles set out in the recent Employment Rights Bill. Improving worker rights must go together with strengthening workplace safety standards, as one cannot be achieved without the other. Keeping the UK’s workforce safe is economic common sense.”