On 4 Dec, I explained how a regulatory farce between the EU and the HSE was wasting millions of taxpayers’ money while costing business millions in lost sales. I have now had an update.
Thankfully, the Secretary of State has understood the position. Iain Duncan Smith has given instructions which should see this dealt with promptly. The next stage is to deal with two crucial issues: why the HSE couldn’t see the problem they were causing in the first place and why they proposed to charge fees for derogations.
Yes – in addition to recovering costs from those who break the rules, the HSE apparently proposed to charge the industry for the derogation. Shockingly, there are clearly those who need an explanation of why it is wrong for a state-backed regulator to charge fees for an essential derogation from bad rules which they would have been charged fees for breaking.
More in due course.
Bravissimo, Steve! I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I have kept checking back since Monday to see what happened. It sounds as though IDS is now aware of a real injustice. I look forward to hearing the next instalment of this shocking saga.