Speaking at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) conference last week, the Prime Minister, David Cameron announced further measures aimed at reducing health and safety protection for small businesses, as part of the government’s so called “red tape” challenge.

Among the 3,000 regulations to be abolished are vital health and safety protections for self-employed workers. The Prime Minister’s announcement comes less than a fortnight after the coalition’s fourth review of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concluded that the body was working efficiently to support health and safety in the workplace.

Tom Jones, head of policy at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Four attempts by this government to dismantle the HSE have failed so the Prime Minister has fallen back on the old chestnut of cutting “red tape”. It’s entirely cynical but it’s a cover for attacking health and safety that has worked before and the Prime Minister is nothing if not dogged in his determination to remove vital protections from working people to help his friends in big business.

TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “It’s sensible to look at whether regulations are still needed or can be simplified from time to time. But this government is going way beyond that to attack worker and consumer rights.

“Stripping self-employed workers of health and safety protection – when construction is riddled with bogus self-employment scams – will make injuries more likely.

“And removing any obligation on employers to protect their staff from sexual and racial harassment by customers sends a very clear signal whose side the government is on.

“The real problems facing small businesses are an economy that has been slow to recover due to austerity economics and the continuing failure of banks to lend.”