Offences under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969; and
Offences under the relevant statutory provisions which are stated to be "summary only", such as those under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992.
The majority of health and safety offences are triable either way. There are no offences for which HSE is the enforcing authority that are triable only on indictment.2
Health and safety prosecutions brought by HSE begin with an information being laid. The information is normally laid in the magistrates’ court for the area where the offence was committed, although it may be laid (and the case tried) elsewhere (see below)3. Details of courts and Local Justice Areas can be checked in the directory of UK courts at each HSE office.
Any magistrates’ court may:
try all summary offences in England and Wales, irrespective of where they were committed;
conduct committal proceedings for any either-way offence committed in England or Wales;
subject to the mode of trial procedure, try any either-way offence, committed in England and Wales;
Arrangements have been made in the Greater London area to send health and safety prosecutions to a designated court (City of London Magistrates’ Court).
Offences committed in connection with any plant or substance may be treated as having been committed at the place where the plant or substance is for the time being.5
Footnotes
S.33(2) states that persons convicted of the following offences are liable on summary conviction to a fine: offences under s.33(1)(d) (contravening s.14 requirements); (f) (preventing or attempting to prevent a person from speaking to an inspector); (h) (intentionally obstructing an inspector); (n) (falsely pretending to be an inspector); and (e) (where it consists of contravening a requirement imposed by an inspector under s.20). See also the Sentencing and Costs section, Model examples.
Manslaughter is, however, triable only on indictment.
