The Government's approach

It was disappointing to see the approach that Prime Minister David Cameron took recently when he addressed business owners in Maidenhead, Berkshire during one of his PM Direct meetings. He used this meeting to declare a 'war' on what he described as the excessive health and safety culture that has become an albatross around the neck of British businesses.

Unfortunately this is exactly the type of approach and language that the BSIF was warning against and we have already expressed our concerns that this would undermine the positive messaging coming from the Löftstedt Review that was published at the end of November. Again although we fully support the Government's efforts to reduce red tape, we are also concerned that this type of language will make a mockery of the important outcomes that proportionate health and safety practice brings.

The BSIF will continue to support the importance of measured safety legislation that ultimately protects workers' health and we encourage businesses to continue to recognise that sensible safety results in a healthy business both for employees and the bottom line.

David Lummis
The BSIF Chief Executive Officer.