The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to unveil a new strategy for workplace health and safety in December, at the same time as calls are growing for a major overhaul of how the body operates and regulates businesses. The plans were revealed by HSE chair Judith Hackitt at a conference in September, run by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
Hackitt told delegates that the strategy would look at clarifying "the roles of the regulated, the regulator and the workforce" as well as others affected by health and safety. She also conceded that the perception of health and safety needed to be improved in the eyes of both employers and the general public, asserting that, "There is a need to draw a clear distinction between real health and safety - stopping people getting killed - and jobsworths who shamelessly use 'elf and safety' as an excuse."
Her speech came as union leaders called for radical changes in how the HSE is funded and structured. A motion by construction union UCATT at the TUC's annual conference in September called for the HSE to be properly funded and for more money to be targeted at inspections. Manufacturers' body EEF will this month be teaming up with the HSE to run a series of seminars looking at some of the health and safety myths surrounding risk assessment and management.
These seminars will be held in accordance with European Health and Safety Week, which runs from 20 - 24 October.
