|
|
|
FPB
relief as Euro Parliament sees sense on 'sun' directive
European Union proposals which could have forced bosses to make complex
risk assessments on the exposure of employees to the sun have been made
more realistic by amendments agreed in the European Parliament today
(Tuesday, 12 July).
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) said employers would breathe a heavy
sigh of relief that they are now unlikely to be forced to compile risk
assessments on the strength of sun.
"MEPs have taken a sensible approach to this directive
by leaving it up to Member States to decide whether or not more
regulations are necessary to address the potential risks of sun light,'
said FPB Chief Executive Nick Goulding. "These regulations would
have required a level of meteorological knowledge more commonly
associated with BBC weatherman Michael Fish than the average business
owner. It would have been a red tape nightmare and completely unworkable
for the vast majority of small businesses. Moreover it could have opened
up a can of worms with regard to legal liability. Thankfully, reason has
prevailed in the parliament."
The European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee approved
amendments to the directive today, which make Member States responsible
for determining if obligations on employers to assess the health and
safety risks of natural sources of optical radiation (i.e. sunlight) are
necessary. A previous draft proposed the introduction of risk assessment
and action obligations on employers at EU level.
UK Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett reflected the concerns of
the FPB when he told the committee this week to adopt a "common
sense" approach to make the legislation "workable" on
Monday.
Mr Goulding added risk from over-exposure to sunlight varies
dramatically across
Europe
.
"Given the risk from exposure to sunlight affects all members of
the public it would be better addressed by national Government,' he
said. "The burden should not be dumped on hard pressed
employers."
FPB's partner organisation in Europe, UEAPME, the umbrella organisation
for SMEs in Europe, has been lobbying the European Parliament, as well
as the Commission and Council, to prevent the introduction of these
onerous EU-level obligations on employers, which would seriously damage
small businesses. Today's vote marks a step in the right direction. The
European Parliament will vote on the proposals in plenary session in
September.
FPB: British bees stung by Governmen't cuts
A leading business pressure group is backing a campaign to safeguard the
British honeybee population whose future is threatened by Government
cuts despite the huge contribution they make to the agriculture industry
by spreading pollen.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) which represents 25,000 small
businesses including many in the agricultural sector, says that the
Government has "got a bee in its bonnet" about cutting costs.
In three years time the Government is reducing the amount of money spent
on the Honeybee Health Programme by a quarter of million pounds to an
annual overall cost of £1m. This will mean the loss of half its 40
strong staff of bee inspectors.
However beekeepers say the inspectors are frontline experts who play a
vital role in helping them fight diseases which could decimate the bee
pollulation such as American Foul Brood, European Foul Brood and
Varroasis. There is also the looming threat of the small hive beetle
spreading from
Europe
or the
USA
.
Most of
England
's 20, 000 beekeepers do not make money from
keeping bees and the sales of honey only totals £12½m a year. However
a Government survey showed that honeybees contribute at least £120m to
the agricultural economy by spreading pollen.
Nick Goulding, chief executive of the FPB, said that although small
businesses had welcomed recent Government commitments to reduce
regulation and red tape, "we have always argued that good
regulation can have positive effects". Beekeepers were small
businesses that needed help because of their vital contribution to our
agricultural industry.
"Bees are highly productive workers. Many small businesses in the
countryside, including our members, benefit hugely from the work done by
people whose hobby is looking after bees", said Mr Goulding.
"If the Government is serious about wanting to trim regulation and
red tape we would be happy to provide ministers with a hit list that
will help small businesses and at the same time maintain a large
population of busy honey bees working for all of us".
The small hive beetle is not the only threat to British bees posed by
Europe
. An EU directive stipulates that remedies to
fight bee diseases must be prescribed by vets, who will also have to
make regular inspections of all hives, even though most of them know
nothing about bees. The cost of these regulations on beekeepers would be
considerable.
However the Government can argue that beekeeping is a special case and
can "opt out" of this directive. Nick Goulding said that the
European Commission should be told to "buzz off. It would indeed be
ironic if the Government accepted damaging European regulation while
chopping effective British regulation", he said.
"A quarter of a million pounds is nothing for a country that can
spend billions on hosting the Olympics. The FPB urges its members to
support the British Beekeepers Association's campaign. There is still
time for the Government to think again".
FPB
launches red tape survey for small business owners
Businesses sweltering in a pressure cooker of red tape are being urged
to take part in a survey to tell Gordon Brown which regulations they
most want to see scrapped or amended.
The Chancellor has asked bosses to tell him which legislation, from
Brussels
or
Westminster
, is most unnecessary. In response leading
business pressure group the Forum of Private Business (FPB), which
represents 25,000 small firms, has launched an online survey on its
website. The survey asks business owners which legislation is
most outdated, damaging to competitiveness and poorly worded. The survey
further asks how legislation could be simplified with clearer
definitions, merging of two or more pieces of legislation or changes in
applicability.
The FPB's Chief Executive Nick Goulding said he intended to present the
survey to the Better Regulation Team at the Department of Trade and
Industry.
"The Chancellor has laid down a challenge to business owners and we
intend to take him up,' he said. "There has been an enormous amount
of regulation since 1997 which is hurting small businesses - the
lifeblood of the UK Economy. The malignant spread of red tape is
undermining firms and this is a golden opportunity for small firms to
tell Mr Brown in straight no nonsense terms where red tape is choking
them."
To access the red tape survey visit: www.fpb.org
Note to editors
In a speech to business leaders in May the Chancellor called for a
"culture change in government" as he outlined his Better
Regulation Action Plan. He promised that a Bill next year would merge 29
regulators into seven as part of a drive to ensure businesses are
inspected with "not just a light touch, but a limited touch".
The Chancellor said the Government wanted to move away from the
"old regulatory model". This involved "100 per cent
inspection of premises, procedures and practices irrespective of known
risks or past results". Instead the Government wanted to promote a
new, "risk-based" approach to regulation, which would involve
firms only having to submit to inspection when the costs could be
justified.
"A risk based approach helps move us a million miles away from the
old assumption - the assumption since the first legislation of Victorian
times that business, unregulated, will invariably act
irresponsibly," Mr Brown said. "The better view is that
businesses want to act responsibly. Reputation with customers and
investors is more important to behaviour than regulation. Transparency,
backed up by the light touch, can be more effective than the heavy
hand."
The Chancellor said that, in practice, the new approach would result in
a 25 per cent cut in form-filling and inspections being cut by a third.
|
|
