A new accreditation scheme for safety consultants – which reflects some of the issues in the debate on accreditation of fire risk assessors – is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

The voluntary scheme will initially be run by the Health & Safety Executive and will only apply to UK-based consultants.

According to a report in our sister title, SHP, there have been calls for an accreditation scheme for some time. The move has been given added impetus by the government’s review into health and safety being undertaken by Lord Young. The peer has been critical of people operating as unqualified consultants, and blames them for some of the worst examples of ‘over-the-top’ actions carried out in the name of health and safety.

The scheme will eventually be run by a consortium of professional bodies including the chartered body for safety and health professionals (IOSH) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

Chartered members of IOSH and the CIEH who work as consultants providing safety advice will be able to join the scheme, and it was agreed that fellows of other relevant institutions will also be eligible. Once it has been launched, IOSH’s own register of safety consultants will cease operating.

IOSH chief executive, Rob Strange, said: “We see the scheme as setting the standard for competent, qualified and experienced health and safety consultants, and helping to restore confidence in health and safety.

“It is vital that businesses looking for help – often small firms – get sound, proportionate advice on health and safety, and that they have confidence in those advising them. Research shows that there is support from both bona-fide consultants and small businesses for this sort of scheme.”

Responding to perceived confusion between accreditation and chartered membership among safety professionals, IOSH’s head of professional affairs, Hazel Harvey, said:

“Chartered membership is recognised by the Privy Council as an appropriate designation for someone with a degree-level qualification, and who has been assessed on their skills and experience. It’s not just available to consultants but to all who reach those standards. Accreditation means belonging to a register for which there are set criteria, but it does not have any formal recognition.

“Using advisors without the right level of expertise, no matter how cheap they are, is potentially dangerous and a false economy. Research has shown that SMEs would be interested in using the proposed register of accredited consultants.”

SHP news story