Skip to main content
IOSH Magazine: Safety, Health and Wellbeing in the world of work - return to the homepage IOSH Magaazine logo
  • Visit IOSH Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit @ioshmagazine on Twitter
  • Visit IOSH Magazine on LinkedIn
MEMBER PREDICTIONS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
November/December issue

Main navigation

  • Home
    • Browse previous issues
    • Member accolades
    • Member tributes
  • Health
    • Mental health and wellbeing
      • Bullying
      • Drugs and alcohol
      • Mental health
      • Stress
      • Wellbeing
    • Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
      • Ergonomics
      • Manual handling
      • Vibration
    • Occupational cancer
      • Asbestos
      • Hazardous substances
      • Radiation
  • Safety
    • Incident management
      • Chemicals
      • Electricity
      • Fire
      • First aid
      • Slips and trips
    • Non-health related fatalities
      • Road safety
      • Work at height
    • Risk management
      • Confined spaces
      • Disability
      • Legionella
      • Lifting operations
      • Lone workers
      • Noise
      • Personal protective equipment
      • Violence at work
      • Work equipment
      • Workplace transport
  • Management
    • Human factors
      • Accident reduction
      • Behavioural safety
      • Control of contractors
      • Migrant workers
      • Older workers
      • Reporting
      • Safe systems of work
      • Sickness absence
      • Young workers
    • Leadership and management
      • Employee involvement
      • Management systems
    • Management standards
      • ISO 45001
      • ISO 45003
    • Planning
      • Assurance
      • Compliance
      • Emergency planning
      • Insurance
    • Rehabilitation
      • Personal injury
      • Return to work
    • Strategy
      • Corporate governance
      • Performance/results
      • Regulation/enforcement
      • Reputation
    • Sustainability
      • Human capital and Vision Zero
  • Skills
    • Communication
    • Personal performance
      • Achieving Fellowship
      • Career development
      • Competencies
      • Personal development
      • Professional skills
      • Qualifications
    • Stakeholder management
    • Working with others
      • Leadership
      • Future Leaders
  • Jobs
  • Covid-19
  • Knowledge Bank
    • Back to basics
    • Book club
    • Infographics
    • Podcast
    • Reports
    • Webinars
    • Videos
  • Products & Services
  • Management
    • Human factors
      • Sickness absence
      • Accident reduction
      • Behavioural safety
      • Control of contractors
      • Migrant workers
      • Older workers
      • Reporting
      • Safe systems of work
      • Young workers
    • Leadership and management
      • Employee involvement
      • Leadership
      • Management systems
    • Management standards
      • ISO 45001
      • ISO 45003
    • Planning
      • Assurance
      • Compliance
      • Emergency planning
      • Insurance
    • Strategy
      • Corporate governance
      • Performance/results
      • Regulation/enforcement
      • Reputation
    • Sustainability
      • Human capital and Vision Zero
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • Mental health and wellbeing
      • Bullying
      • Drugs and alcohol
      • Mental health
      • Stress
      • Wellbeing
    • Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
      • Ergonomics
      • Manual handling
      • Vibration
    • Occupational cancer
      • Asbestos
      • Hazardous substances
      • Radiation
  • Safety
    • Incident management
      • Chemicals
      • Electricity
      • Fire
      • First aid
      • Slips and trips
    • Non-health related fatalities
      • Road safety
      • Work at height
    • Risk management
      • Confined spaces
      • Disability
      • Legionella
      • Lifting operations
      • Lone workers
      • Noise
      • Personal protective equipment
      • Violence at work
      • Work equipment
      • Workplace transport
  • Skills
    • Communication
    • Personal performance
      • Career development
      • Competencies
      • Personal development
      • Qualifications
      • Professional skills
      • Achieving Fellowship
    • Stakeholder management
    • Working with others
      • Leadership
      • Future Leaders
  • Transport and logistics
  • Third sector
  • Retail
  • Mining and quarrying
  • Rail
  • Rehabilitation
    • Personal injury
    • Return to work
  • Utilities
  • Manufacturing and engineering
  • Construction
  • Sector: IOSH Branch
    • Sector: Northern Ireland
    • Sector: Midland
    • Sector: Merseyside
    • Sector: Manchester and North West Districts
    • Sector: Ireland East
    • Sector: Ireland
    • Sector: Edinburgh
    • Sector: Desmond-South Munster
    • Sector: Qatar
    • Sector: Oman
    • Singapore
    • Sector: South Coast
    • Sector: South Wales
    • Sector: Thames Valley
    • Sector: Tyne and Wear
    • Sector: UAE
    • Sector: West of Scotland
    • Sector: Yorkshire
  • Healthcare
  • Sector: Fire
  • Sector: Financial/general services
  • Sector: Energy
  • Education
  • Sector: Communications and media
  • Chemicals
  • Sector: Central government
  • Catering and leisure
  • Agriculture and forestry
  • Sector: Local government
  • Sector: IOSH Group
    • Sector: Financial Services
    • Sector: Sports Grounds and Events
    • Rural industries
    • Sector: railway
    • Public Services
    • Sector: Offshore
    • Sector: Hazardous Industries
    • Sector: Food and Drink
    • Sector: Fire Risk Management
    • Education
    • Construction
    • Sector: Aviation and Aerospace
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Categories
  • Topics
  • Management
  • Strategy
  • Regulation/enforcement
Sector: Energy
News

Court slashes ScottishPower’s £1.75m fine by £550k on appeal

Open-access content Monday 14th November 2016

Court slashes Scottish Power's £1.75m fine by £550k following appeal

David Roscoe, a plant controller at the company's now decommissioned power station in Alloa, Scotland, was engulfed in high-temperature steam and severely burned while inspecting a faulty drain valve in October 2013. The valve opened unexpectedly, releasing high-pressure steam.

On 31 May this year, Dunfermline Sheriff Court was told that SPG had been aware of the defective valve, but failed to repair the fault or replace the equipment. The company pleaded guilty to breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £1.75m, reduced from £2.5m for the early guilty plea.

As IOSH Magazine previously reported, SPG lodged an appeal against the financial penalty in July. The court has allowed the appeal and will reduce the fine by £550,000.

The new sentencing guidelines, which were published in November 2015 and introduced on 1 February this year for health and safety breaches, do not apply in Scotland and the appeal raised the issue of the extent to which the Scottish courts should have regard to them.

Sheriff Charles MacNair did use the 2015 guidelines as a reference when sentencing SPG. He determined that the company's culpability was "high", harm category 2 (seriousness of harm risked was level B, "high" likelihood) and that the size of the organisation fell within the "very large" category as its turnover exceeded £50m. The starting point for the fine was therefore £1.1m, with a range between £550,000 and £2.9m.

SPG raised four grounds of appeal. One was that the sheriff should not have regarded the 2015 guidelines, "which vastly increased the level of fines" and instead ought to have referred to the previous guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council for sentencing organisations on or after 15 February 2010.

Another ground of SPG's appeal was that Sheriff MacNair had, in any case, misapplied the new guidelines and miscategorised the offence. It claimed he should have regarded culpability as "medium" because "systems had been in place but had not been sufficiently adhered to or implemented", and the likelihood of harm "low".

The appellants said the £2.5m starting point for the fine was "excessive" and failed to take into account mitigating factors.

In delivering the opinion of the court, Lord Carloway, lord justice general, said: "The focus in the appeal was primarily the applicability of the 2015 guidelines from the Sentencing Council of England and Wales."

The court decided it was "appropriate" for Sheriff MacNair to have regard to the 2015 sentencing guidelines as a cross check "because it would be bordering on the ridiculous to apply a guideline which was out of date" and the "startling submission that the use of guidelines of the type under consideration here is productive of inconsistency and inefficiency is simply not accepted". However, "exactly how [the sheriff did have regard to the latest sentencing guidelines] is not entirely clear".

Lord Carloway said: "If the guideline were used as a method of calculating the appropriate fine, the court would have reached the same figures as the sheriff by applying the 'high' culpability factor and the harm category 2. The contentions to the contrary by the appellants are rejected. This produces a starting point of £1.1m and a range of £550,000 to £2.9m.

"However, the court would then have to have regard to the low number of employees exposed. This would not have decreased the starting point figure. The fact that the offence was a significant cause of actual harm could have increased it and may even have moved the category to level 1, thus producing a starting point of £2.4m and a range commencing at £1.5m. However, the mitigatory factors would have kept the figure to the lowest level of that range.

"In short, using the 2015 guideline as a cross check to the figure of £1.5m, the sum selected as a 'starting point' in conventional Scottish sentencing parlance, prior to a discount for the early plea, seems reasonable."

The court then considered that a 20% discount would be "reasonable" to reduce the starting point of £1.5m by £300,000 to produce a fine of £1.2m.

"The appeal is accordingly allowed. The court will quash the figure of £1.75m and substitute one of £1.2m", Lord Carloway said.

Topics
Regulation/enforcement
Sector: Energy
News

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Manager

Newcastle Upon Tyne
Up to £55000 per annum + Car or Car Allowance & Benefits
Reference
5452767

Health & Safety Auditor

Cardiff (Caerdydd)
£34,692 + OTE and Benefits
Reference
5452765

Health Safety & Assurance Advisor

Birmingham
£38000 - £42000 per annum
Reference
5452761
See all jobs »

Today's top reads

Sign up for regular e-alerts

Receive the latest news and features, free to your inbox

Sign up

Subscribe to IOSH magazine

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
IOSH Covers
​
FOLLOW US
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel +44 (0)20 7880 6200
​

IOSH

About IOSH
Become a member
IOSH Events
MyIOSH

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to IOSH magazine
Write for IOSH magazine

IOSH Magazine

Health
Safety
Management
Skills
IOSH Jobs

© 2023 IOSH • IOSH is not responsible for the content of external sites

ioshmagazine.com and IOSH Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ