Agenda item

That members consider the Health and Safety Policy, following a recent review, and make recommendation to Cabinet for approval (report of the Assistant Director – Regulatory enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Regulatory that asked members to consider the Health and Safety Policy following a recent review, and make recommendations to Cabinet for approval.

The Assistant Director – Regulatory introduced the report and the following points were highlighted:

• The Health and Safety Policy was a mandatory requirement of all employers under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974;
• The Policy set out the council’s commitment to health, safety and welfare of all employees and others who could be affected by council activities;
• The Policy needed to be reviewed periodically to ensure that it remained compliant and fit for purpose; the policy had not materially changed as a result of the review; and
• The draft Health and Safety Policy was at Appendix A.

Members consideration the report and made the following comments:

• Members asked whether staff were encouraged to log ‘near miss’ incidents.
  • The Assistant Director – Regulatory responded that :
    • Part of Health and Safety management at the council included both accident and ‘near miss’ reporting;
    • Employee training, in respect of responsibilities to report accidents and ‘near miss’ incidents, was delivered as part of the induction programme and at regular intervals thereafter;
    • Certain categories of accidents were required to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE);
    • There was an obligation for the council to keep track of  all accidents, not just the most serious;
    • Discussions and actions arising from the Health and Safety Working Group were shared with departments and also escalated to the Partnership Health and Safety Governance Group, which was chaired by the Assistant Director – Regulatory. In turn, the minutes from the partnership meeting were seen by the Senior Leadership Team and this process demonstrated the Health and Safety performance mechanism within the organisation and ensured that opportunities for learning were captured across the partnership.

• Members asked whether the policy covered issues relating to mental health, and were incidents required to be recorded.
  • The Assistant Director – Regulatory responded that:
    • Responsibilities relating to mental health were intrinsic as part of the council’s obligations and duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act and issues should be recorded;
    • Mental Health First Aiders were in place across the partnership as part of the regime to manage the wellbeing of employees;
    • The council also had an Employee Assistance Programme and employees could utilise mental health resources through Maximus; and
    • Although updates had been made to the 1974 Act, the issue of wellbeing and mental health in the workplace was still evolving in importance.

• Members asked whether resilience and conflict management training was offered to staff and whether processes were in place for managers to follow-up this type of training with employees.
  • The Assistant Director – Regulatory confirmed that, as part of statutory responsibilities, training to manage and mitigate workplace abuse or violence was provided to front-line staff and repeated at intervals. Management processes were in place as part of the overall Health and Safety management arrangements.

AGREED:

That after consideration of report by the Policy Development Panel, the Health and Safety Policy be noted and recommended to Cabinet for approval.