16 September 2004 - Statement of Intent for Improvement of Health and Safety at Work
A Statement of Intent was unveiled at the
Annual Conference to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, held
in Torquay.
The statement, by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local
Authorities Co-coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), have laid out
their commitment for the improvement of how HSE and local government work
together for the betterment of health and safety at work, which is one of
the strategic themes of the Health and Safety
Commission's
Strategy for Workplace Health and Safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond.
The Statement of Intent has high-level commitments, providing the framework
of objectives for the achievement of the Strategic Programme, which
includes: Working in partnership, improvement of communications between
partners, the sharing of information, examination of the legal framework,
development of arrangements for the monitoring of work and enforcing
authorities and working with other government departments.
Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, Mr. Bill Callahan
commented:
Sensible health and safety is a vital component of employee and public protection and an intrinsic part of community health and wellbeing. To improve health and safety in Great Britain, we need a significant change in how HSE and local authorities work together. HSC, HSE and local authority representative bodies are committed to being good partners and working with each other to improve health and safety. The Statement of Intent sets out how we will do this and I am delighted that yet another step in the implementation of the strategy has been reached.
Allan Davies, head of HSEs Local Authority Unit and Strategic Programme manager, commented:
This Statement of
Intent marks important progress in the Strategic Programme to enable HSE and
local government to work together to achieve improvements in workplace
health and safety. The Statement is an important public declaration of the
commitment we are all making to work in a closer partnership.
To bring partnership working into effect we in HSE recognise that we need
to change the ways we work and to fully recognise the excellent work done by
local authorities. The joint working that has been needed to develop this
statement is an indication of a new understanding of the importance of the
contribution local government can make to improve health and safety.
Executive Director of LACORS, Mr Derek Allen said:
Today marks a milestone in the process to improve health and safety enforcement by local government and the HSE. By working together more effectively in partnership, we can make workplaces safer and prevent accidents and illnesses. We are pleased that the Statement of Intent emphasises that health and safety enforcement is a vital component of worker and public protection that successfully contributes to local community health and well-being. LACORS will work hard to make sure the Statement of Intent is backed up by actions that will result in improvements for local communities.
Copies of the Statement of Intent are available by clicking the following link: New Strategic Programme - Local Authorities and HSE working together
The statement can also be found on the LACORS web site Technical Indexes Limited - LACORS
Article by Alexandra Johnston
