Catalogue description Records created or inherited by the Health and Safety Commission and Executive

The Health and Safety Commission was created under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and is responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive and local government are the enforcing authorities who work in support of the Commission. Its aim is to ensure risks in the workplace are properly controlled and generally to promote the protection of people at work and the public from hazards arising from industrial and commercial activity, including major industrial accidents and the transportation of hazardous materials. Its members are appointed by the secretary of state following consultation with representative groups such as employers, employees, local authorities and others.

For further information about the Health and Safety Commission, please see the Administrative History at divisional level: Records of the Health and Safety Commission.

The Health and Safety Executive is the Health and Safety Commission's major instrument. Through its inspectorates it enforces health and safety law in the majority of industrial premises. The Executive advises the Commission in its major task of laying down safety standards through regulations and practical guidance for many industrial processes. The Executive is also the licensing authority for nuclear installations, the reporting officer on the severity of nuclear incidents in Britain, and has been responsible for the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority.

For further information about the Health and Safety Executive, please see the Administrative History at divisional level: Records of the Health and Safety Executive.

In 2008 to improve governance arrangements, the Health and Safety Commission and the three person Health and Safety Executive agreed to merge into a new unitary body, bringing together their powers and functions, and retaining the name 'Health and Safety Executive'.