User:Soteria2011/Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998

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The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (or Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999) regulations aim to reduce risks to people’s health and safety from lifting equipment provided for use at work. The regulations (more commonly reffered to as LOLER) replaced existing legal requirements relating to the use of lifting equipment, for example the Construction (Lifting Operations) Regulations 1961, the Docks Regulations 1988 and the Lifting Plant and Equipment (Records of Test and Examination etc).

Enactment
The LOLER regulations are created by a statutory instrument. Statutory Instruments (SIs) are a form of legislation which allow the provisions of an Act of Parliament to be subsequently brought into force or altered without Parliament having to pass a new Act. They are also referred to as secondary, delegated or subordinate legislation. Whether an instrument is subject to parliamentary procedure is determined by the parent Act.

Health & Safety SIs are subject to parliamentary control following the procedures laid down in the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 and the criteria laid down in the Heatlh and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The instruments are subject to the negative resolution procedure which is where such instruments become law unless there is an objection from the House.

Each Statutory Instrument has a preamble stating the authority or the primary legislation for its production. The 1998 No. 2307, Health and Safety, Lifting Operations and Lifitng Equipment Regulations 1998 preamble declares that they were created by the then Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 15(1), (2), (3)(a) and (5)(b), 49 and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraphs 1(1), (2) and (3), 14, 15(1) and 16 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act. The regulations were made on the 15th Decmeber 1998, laid before Parliament on the 25th September 1998 and following completion of parlimentary scrutiny came into force on the 5th December 1998.

Northern Ireland
In Nothern Ireland the LOLER regulations were made by The Department of Economic Development, being the Department concerned, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 17(1), (2), (3) and (5)(2), 45 and 55(2) of, and paragraphs 1(1), (2) and (3), 13, 14(1) and 15 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, after consultation in accordance with Article 46(1) of that Order with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland(4) and such other bodies as appeared to the Department to be appropriate

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998
In addition to the requirements of the LOLER, lifting equipment is also subject to the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (Legislation.gov.uk Link)PUWER 1998 replaces the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992 (Legislation.gov.uk Link) and carries forward these existing requirements with a few changes and additions, for example the inspection of work equipment and specific new requirements for mobile work equipment. The Regulations require risks to people’s health and safety, from equipment that they use at work, to be prevented or controlled.