Health and safety | UK Regulatory Outlook May 2025

Mental Health Awareness Week

The 12^--18 May was Mental Health Awareness Week. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in line with this, again promoted its Working Minds campaign and urged businesses to implement or revisit the "5Rs":

• Reach out and have conversations
• Recognise the signs and causes of stress
• Respond to risks by agreeing action points
• Reflect on the actions taken – have things improved?
• Make it Routine to check in regularly and review how things are going.

As part of the campaign and coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Week, the HSE has also issued a new online learning module for businesses on risk assessments for stress. This provides information on:

• what to include in a risk assessment;
• identifying and addressing the root cause of issues; and
• shifting focus from individual to organisational solutions.

This can be accessed here.

Mental Health Awareness Week serves as a timely reminder for businesses to implement measures that mitigate the risks associated with mental health, particularly given the rising instances of work-related stress. The HSE is increasingly focused on promoting its Stress Management Standards and it anticipates there being a move towards enforcement action against businesses who are not considering the issue in the future.

Building safety

MPs have urged the government to review how it can best support the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to reduce delays in building safety approvals. The House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee wrote to the housing secretary and building safety minister stating it was "clear that improvements need to be made both to the operating efficacy of the Regulator, as well as the quality of building control applications which are submitted for its review”.

In a written statement to parliament, the minister for building safety, Alex Norris, has confirmed that Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is "exploring all possible options" to ensure the BSR can handle the high demand of applications and that the BSR is conducting a "systematic review of all its building safety guidance" to identify where improvements are needed. The statement came shortly before key findings of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee were published on the government's response to the Grenfell inquiry Phase 2 report. In addition to reviewing how to support improvement in the BSR's operations and addressing delays to BSR sign-off "as a priority", the committee's recommendations included:

• creation of a national oversight mechanism to oversee implementation of recommendations from public inquiries, to be considered as part of the upcoming "Hillsborough Bill";
• explanation of how the government will address developers' concerns around the potential impact of the Building Safety Levy on housing supply and a revised estimate of how much the levy will raise after any adjustments, with shortfall to be made up "preferably" through developer contributions; and
• the proposed new independent panel of building control should be given statutory footing and lay out a plan to drive recruitment of building control professionals.

The BSR has itself highlighted the poor quality of the applications submitted, stating that 44% of Gateway 2 applications are rejected at the validation stages for missing basic information and documentation. Of those validated applications, 70% are rejected due to non-compliance with building regulations. In terms of processing times, the BSR have advised that these have reduced to 16-17 weeks for higher-risk projects and 10 weeks for lower-risk work (the statutory time limits for the BSR to undertake these reviews are 12 weeks and 8 weeks respectively).

Paddleboard business owner sentenced for gross negligence manslaughter

A paddleboard business owner, Nerys Lloyd, has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for gross negligence manslaughter following the deaths of four individuals in October 2021. Lloyd admitted to the charges on 5 March 2025, including one count under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Despite severe weather warnings and heavy flooding, Lloyd proceeded with a paddleboarding trip without checking the hazardous conditions of the weir, providing a safety briefing, or informing participants of the dangers. This negligence led to the deaths of four participants by drowning. It was also found that Lloyd did not hold the correct qualification to lead such a tour.

The investigation by Dyfed-Powys Police and the HSE found Lloyd's gross negligence in planning and executing the trip.

This case underscores the severe consequences of safety failings in business operations. Gross negligence manslaughter can be prosecuted when actions or omissions result in a breach of duty of care, leading to foreseeable risk of death. The conviction serves as a reminder to all businesses of the importance of adhering to safety regulations and managing risks.

Acquittals in health and safety cases: HSE ordered to pay defendants costs

The HSE has been ordered to pay £587,382.76 in defence costs following a court decision that the prosecution was brought with insufficient evidence. The case involved a tower crane collapse in Crewe on 21 June 2017, resulting in the deaths of three employees where the HSE prosecuted Falcon Cranes, alleging that they had defendant failed to appoint an "Appointed Person" (AP) to oversee the crane erection. These costs were awarded under section 19(1) Prosecution of Offences Act 198.

The defendant, a tower crane supplier, was accused of breaching sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The prosecution claimed the defendant failed to appoint an AP, but the defendant maintained it had appointed an AP.

During the trial, the AP identified by the defendant reversed his initial denial, confirming he was indeed appointed and had carried out similar jobs. His testimony led to the HSE conceding there was no evidence against the defendant, resulting in an acquittal. The defence argued that the HSE's prosecution was flawed, and the court agreed, criticising the HSE's investigation and decision-making process. The awarded costs were deemed reasonable, reflecting the serious nature of the case and the distress caused to the defendant.

Four businesses acquitted in fire safety trial

Four businesses have been acquitted of a fire safety prosecution brought by the fire service for a fire that occurred at a retirement village in August 2019. What was supposed to be an eight-week trial ended on day two, after the prosecution offered no evidence. All four defendants argued the expert evidence was inadmissible, claiming it lacked independence, impartiality and competence. The prosecution accepted these points and therefore conceded.

This case illustrates the importance of ensuring evidence put forward by the prosecution is both reliable and credible and demonstrates the benefits of challenging the admissibility of evidence.