R2P2 meaning

R2P2 describes how the HSE assesses and manages health and safety risks, and how those assessments inform regulatory decisions such as enforcement, permissioning and prioritising resources. It is the short title of Reducing Risks, Protecting People: HSE’s Decision‑Making Process, issued by the Health and Safety Executive as policy guidance, not legislation or case law. It sets out the tolerability of risk framework (unacceptable; tolerable if ALARP; broadly acceptable) and the role of ALARP and proportionate cost–benefit analysis in decision‑making. In practice, lawyers and dutyholders rely on R2P2 to anticipate HSE expectations in risk assessment, safety cases and prosecutions under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and cognate regimes. Much of its content has since been updated or supplemented (e.g., HSE guidance on ALARP/CBA and the Enforcement Management Model), but R2P2 remains a commonly cited reference. Jurisdiction: HSE policy applies in Great Britain (England and Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland (HSENI) and Ireland (HSA) use similar risk‑based approaches, but R2P2 is not binding there.