Health and Safety Commission

“The challenges for health and safety”

Swansea Safety Group Annual Seminar,

20 June 2007

Sandy Blair CBE

Member of the Health and Safety Commission

Health and Safety Commission

“The challenges for health and safety”

Swansea Safety Group Annual Seminar,

20 June 2007

Sandy Blair CBE

Member of the Health and Safety Commission

Coverage of presentation

• Changes in industrial structure and economic activity in Wales;

• Review the progress that we have made in reducing the incidence of ill health, injury at days lost in the workplace;

• Major challenges we face in the sphere of occupational health;

• ‘Sensible risk’ principles and key messages

Wales – the changing economy

Wales is a dynamic and vital part of the economy :

• workforce of just over 1.3 million

• 390,000 (30%) employed in public administration, education and health

• Almost 300,000 workers (23%) employed in the service industries

• 179,000 (14%) employed in manufacturing

• 157,000 (12%) employed in finance sector

• Nearly 100,000 (7%) employed in construction

Progress in reducing injury and ill-health

• At the end of the 1960s around 1,000 employees died each year;

• The number of fatal and non-fatal accidents in was over 300,000 in 1970 compared with 193,000 in 1961;

• 160 employees and 52 self-employers were killed at work in 2005/06;

• Many lives have been saved by the health and safety improvements introduced following the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Act.

Performance against Revitalising Health and Safety targets - 1

Performance against RHS targets - 2

Issues can be tackled:

The burden of occupational ill-health

• 1 million people a week take sick leave

• In an average week 3,000 people are off sick for more than six months

• Of those 80% will not work again for the next five years

• Some 600,000 new people are flowing on to Incapacity Benefit each year.

Sickness absence : the hard facts

• An estimated 164 million working days are lost each year due to all causes of sickness absence;

• An average of 7 to 8 days lost per employee;

• Only 1-in20 absences are long term but these account for at least one-third of working time lost.

Present and future challenges – Health, Work and Well-being

Key themes of the Government’s Health, Work and Well-being Strategy :

• To improve the health and well being of the working age population

• To influence people to change culture and behaviours

• To win support of major stakeholders

• Our vision is to gain recognition of work as important and beneficial, and to remove institutional barriers to starting, returning to or remaining in work.

Health and Well-Being in Wales

HSE is producing joint plan with the Welsh Assembly to implement the Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the Welsh workforce, including :

• Promoting Welsh Backs and HSE Better Backs, aimed at reducing incidence and sickness absence

• Also jointly developing Corporate Health Standard scheme for SMEs. The scheme is a performance accredited award scheme.

• Planning a “Joint Health is Good Business” Conference in October with the Mid Wales Manufacturing Group.

Sensible risk – silly stories

• There are the simple myths – stories with no basis in fact at all;

• There are the stories that reflect the actions of a single person that go well beyond what the law and common sense would suggest;

• There are examples where health and safety or fear of litigation is used as an excuse to justify a decision made for other, usually financial reasons.

HSC ‘Principles of Sensible Risk Management’ - 1

Sensible risk management is about:

• Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected;

• Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks;

• Enabling innovation and learning ;

• Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly;

• Helping individuals understand that as well as the right to protection they have a responsibility.

HSC ‘Principles of Sensible Risk Management’ - 2

Sensible risk management is not about

• Creating a totally risk free society;

• Generating useless paperwork mountains;

• Scaring people by publicising trivial risks;

• Stopping important recreational and learning activities;

• Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and suffering.

Sensible risk – key messages - 1

• Health and safety needs to be about saving lives not stopping people

• Sensible risk management is about providing overall benefits to society by balancing benefits and risks

• If we are to turn the tide all of us must make sure we are above reproach

Sensible risk – key messages - 2

• We must concentrate on saving lives, not stopping people living

Sensible risk management is about:

• providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks

• Managing health and safety is not about absolutes, but rather the balance needs to be struck. Section 3 of the Act is qualified by ‘reasonably practicable’

Other initiatives in Wales

• Planning joint guidance for employers/agencies of migrant workers in Wales and events

• We have also agreed a plan with Welsh LAs on joint working with a goal of over 120 inspection initiatives this year targeting priority objectives;

• We continue campaign Moving goods safely ;

• We will be undertaking a flexible warranting project in North Wales working with Local Authorities.

Conclusion

Whilst the evidence shows that improvements are being made in some areas, for example the on-going reduction in days lost, we must not lose sight of the task ahead including in preventing fatalities and major injuries.