A government-commissioned review into the UK's health and safety laws has the potential to bring about a culture change, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has said.

Roger Bibbings, occupational safety advisor at the body, said the Lofstedt report, published last week, suggests it is not the legislation itself that is at fault but the way in which it is implemented.

It points out a need for a "national strategy" to improve our understanding of risk, he said.

The review, carried out by Professor Ragnar Lofstedt of King's College London, recommends that health and safety legislation be cut by half. Ministers could begin streamlining red tape as early as January 2012.

"Lofstedt points out that it is not health and safety law which has caused unnecessary restrictions, but people's inability to implement it in a proportionate way based on risk assessment," Mr Bibbings said.

A range of third parties, including consultations, lawyers and insurers, can cause duty-holders to be too risk averse, Mr Bibbings said.

"In this sense, his [Lofstedt's] most significant long-term recommendation relates to the need for a national strategy to improve risk literacy."

This would mean a shift from blanket health and safety rules to a goal-setting system, which requires people to think, Mr Bibbings stated.

"Lofstedt should help promote a culture change."