Article: Safety - health and safety - regulation and inspection Online interactions for this service Report against this service Article Body Barnsley Council is committed to improving health and safety at work and to increasing health and safety awareness. The Regulatory Services Health and Safety team comprises specialist health and safety professionals who visit and work with employers and employees of businesses in the Barnsley metropolitan area. The duties of the team fall into the following categories: Regulation of work activities Enforcement of health and safety legislation Investigation of work related accidents Investigation of complaints from employers, employees and the public Registration of businesses that carry out acupuncture, body piercing, ear piercing, electrolysis and tattooing Regulation of sunbed use Health and Safety laws relating to your workplace are enforced by either an inspector from the council ( see our Enforcement Policy) or from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Council and the HSE are known as enforcing authorities. Offices, shops, warehouses, restaurants, hotels, consumer and leisure services are the responsibility of the Council. Most other businesses, such as factories and construction sites, are the responsibility of the HSE. In both cases inspectors apply the same laws in the same way. New regulations relating to health and safety have been introduced over the last few years, reinforcing the principles contained in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. This act places great emphasis on self-control of the workplace by employers, the self-employed and employees. Safety must be considered and built into work systems and practices at all stages, and not as an after thought. The need for safety awareness in the working environment cannot be over emphasised. Nationally around 400 people are killed in accidents at work and several hundred thousand are injured every year. In addition to this two million people are suffering from illnesses that have resulted from their work. All this leads to a total of more than 35 million working days being lost nationally. A high proportion of this occurs in small businesses, many at premises that would not normally be considered to be hazardous. The cost of accidents in personal terms is immeasurable; the cost to businesses from staff absences, damage and increased insurance premiums is immense. If you have a concern specific to your workplace, please contact the relevant authority for your type of workplace: for BMBC enforced workplaces please use our online form to report a health & safety problem for work activities enforced by the Health and Safety Executive please us the HSE's own online form Service standards For details about the levels of service you can expect to receive, please read our Service Standards documents :- Health & Safety service standards