The increasing costs under the Fees For Intervention regime

Monday 1st April 2024 has been dubbed National Price Hike Day, given that this will be the date when the costs of a range of services will increase, including TV and Broadband, Vehicle Excise Duty and Council Tax, but it is also the date when the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will increase their hourly rate, once again under the Fees For Intervention (FFI) regime.

The HSE introduced the FFI scheme in October 2012. It was designed so that the HSE were able to recover their costs in circumstances where they had identified that a dutyholder was in contravention of a relevant statutory provision contained within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, or any associated Health and Safety Regulations. 

The trigger for a fee to become payable, was if a HSE Inspector identified a material breach of the applicable Health and Safety legislation and with the amount ultimately payable being based upon the time incurred by the HSE Inspector(s) in identifying any material breaches, at a set hourly rate. 

A wide number of standard HSE investigatory activities are covered by the regime including the time an Inspector spends undertaking site visit(s), obtaining witness statements, reviewing relevant documentation, preparing reports and engaging specialist inspectors. In addition, the time required to provide compliance advice to a dutyholder and to check that the remedial measures are suitable, are also covered.   

In 2012 the rate applicable under FFI was £124 per hour. It was stated this rate was determined on the basis that it covered the HSE’s direct costs incurred to deliver their inspection activities as a whole. It therefore took account of the total salary costs, travel and subsistence, use of laboratory or other specialist facilities, training and overheads. 

While the initial hourly rate was £124 in 2012, this rate has steadily increased over the years and in 2022 it stood at £163 per hour.  On 1st April 2023 it was then increased to £166. The increase at that stage was described as “an inflationary increase” so that the HSE ensured they continued to recover the full cost of any relevant activity. 

The rise on 1st April 2024 will see an increase in the rate to £174 per hour. This is a 4.8% annual increase compared with the 2023 rate and is a 40% increase since the scheme first came into force 12 years ago. 

Interestingly the most recent set of HSE annual accounts available are for 2022/23. They reveal the income derived from FFI for the year 2022/23 totalled some £14.3 million, which was up from the £13.33 million recorded in the accounts for the previous year. 

Indeed, with the HSE targeting more proactive inspections and focusing on high-risk sectors, combined with the new higher hourly rate, it appears that the level of FFI revenue will only continue to increase over the coming years.