Health and safety investigations

All workplaces are covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the regulations made under it. Enforcement of the Act is divided between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for higher risk premises such as factories, quarries and farms; and the council for premises such as offices, shops, catering businesses etc. 

All of these premises are assessed to determine the level of risk they present to the people who work in them and receive routine inspections at a frequency dependent on this level of risk. In this way higher risk premises might be visited every year and lower risk premises once every three years. These routine inspections help us to ensure that premises are safe for those who work in them.

We also follow up reports of accidents in workplaces to find out the cause and to ensure that preventable incidents do not happen again. Certain types of accidents have to be reported to us by law. More information is available from the RIDDOR website.

If we receive a complaint about health and safety at work we will investigate it in order to make sure that the law is being followed and that the workplace is safe. Whilst we do not generally investigate anonymous complaints, anyone wishing to report a problem to us can be assured that it will be dealt with in confidence.

For more information please contact us at:

Environmental Health and Housing Section
Community Services Department
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Town Hall
Matlock
Derbyshire
DE4 3NN

Tel: 01629 761212
Fax: 01629 761165
email: envhealth@derbyshiredales.gov.uk