BSIF In Action: Westminster updates

Improving health and safety performance and outcomes in the UK will be a key element within her new role. The UK’s record in occupational safety and health is something that we should all be proud of as well as committed to improving. This effort requires a collective approach and we look forward to working with Penny on this in the coming months, as we attempt to convert the image of Safety and Health from the discipline being a burden to realisation that it is a real force for good in the UK.

July saw the tabling of an Early Day Motion (EDM) that recognised the HSE Help Great Britain Work Well strategy and agreed that effective health and safety cultures should not be burdensome for business but rather, they should be celebrated. The EDM also recognised the reduction in the HSE’s budget and the implications this could have on regulations being implemented. The EDM has already received 17 signatures.

In November 2014 we activated the EDM that supported the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme (RSSS) and stressed the need for increased health and safety inspections. This achieved 63 MP signatures. We are confident that as the summer recess period is now over, we will see the current engagement with the recent EDM increase and will keep readers up to date on all developments.