Inspections
The Commercial Team is responsible for enforcement of health and
safety law within over 2,400 workplaces in the Vale of
Glamorgan.
Officers of the Commercial Team have the same enforcement powers
as HSE Inspectors under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The responsibility for health and safety enforcement is determined
by the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998,
and is established on the basis of the 'main activity' carried out
at a particular premises.
Examples of the types of premises in which we enforce
health and safety include:
- Sale or storage of goods for retail or wholesale distribution
(e.g. retail shops and warehouses)
- Offices (e.g. banks and building societies)
- Catering services (e.g. restaurants, mobile vendors and
takeaways)
- Accommodation in non-domestic premises (e.g. hotels,
guesthouses, care homes and caravan sites)
- Consumer services provided in a shop (e.g. tool hire,
hairdressers)
- Care, treatment, display, hire and accommodation of animals
(e.g. Zoo, pet shops, boarding establishments and riding
establishments)
- Pre-school childcare, playschool, creches or nurseries
(excluding educational establishments)
- Cosmetic and therapeutic services (e.g. skin piercing,
tattooing and acupuncture)
- Leisure facilities (e.g. golf courses, go-kart and race tracks,
bouncy castles and cinemas)
- A number of other premises and activities including builders
merchants, undertakers, tyre and exhaust fitters, graveyards
attached to churches and coin-operated launderettes.
The main function of a health and safety inspection is to ensure
compliance with the law. An Enforcement Officer has powers under
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to enter any workplace
without giving notice, at any reasonable time. However, if an
Enforcement Officer is of the opinion that a situation is or may be
dangerous, they may enter at any time.
Premises are inspected within the Vale of Glamorgan according to
the risk rating classification allocated to them. Attention is
targeted to those premises with the highest rating first, so
resources are aimed at those premises posing the greatest risk.
These inspections are normally carried out without prior
notification.
During the inspections, Officers will assess:
- Management awareness of health and safety issues
- Effective policies and procedures in place for safety and
training
- Safety of work activities
- Health, safety and welfare of the working environment. This
will include aspects such as the general working conditions,
machinery, use of hazardous substances and electrical safety.