House of Lords 2006 - A thought provoking event

The IIRSM’s annual luncheon took place at the House of Lords on Tuesday 26th September
Warmly welcomed by the IIRSM Board, members gathered together to share their experiences of working in health and safety, to meet old friends and to form new contacts. There can be no
more delightful setting for this than the terrace of the House of Lords on a beautiful, sunny day.

more photos below

Our healthy appetites

The day had started with a fascinating tour of Westminster Palace, where we all admired buildings, decorations, paintings and pieces of history from across the centuries.  No doubt, it was the walk that accounted for the healthy appetite shown by everyone gathered in the Cholmondeley Room!  After lunch, we settled down to listen to a thought-provoking and entertaining speech by Sir Frank Davies. He was introduced by Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE, our Host for the day, who spoke affectionately of Sir Frank’s unsurpassable commitment to health and safety as Chairman of the Health and Safety  Commission.  During his six years in this role, he reduced the number of regulations by 40% while reducing fatalities by half. Everyone was interested to hear his views on health and safety, and we were not disappointed. 

Concerns for the future

Sir Frank spoke first of the huge benefits which have been brought about by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA), reducing deaths from an estimated 2,000 before the Act to 212 last year. But he has real fears for the future of health and safety, and shared some of his key concerns with his audience. 

First, is the overwhelming complexity of health and safety legislation now. “It is a fundamental tenet of law in this country that ignorance of the law is no excuse [for breaking the law]. Since this government came to power, it has added one offence for every day – that is well over 3,000 offences.”  Under the Act, the employer is deemed responsible for any health and safety incidents ‘as long as it is reasonably practical’. “This is a complete reversal of the burden of proof in a country where one is innocent until proven guilty.” However, the fact that HSWA 1974 takes mitigating circumstances into account – ‘as long as it is reasonably practical’ – has made this work.  One of Sir Frank’s fears is that this clause will be repealed: “I fear Europe will prevail eventually.” 

Sir Frank also spoke of the profile of health and safety in the media today: “Every restriction is blamed on health and safety and it is the subject of media scorn and derision. I greatly agree with Bill Callaghan’s recent speech entitled, ‘Get a Life’.” His final concern is that “the HSC and the HSE may be losing government support.”  They have in recent times been moved from the Department of Employment, to the Department of the Environment, then the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, to the Department of Work and Pensions.  Staff numbers have fallen from 4,000 to 3,000 and discussions are being held to cut another 250 or 350 staff . “I expected the opposite from New Labour and was surprised by the reality.” 

There is clearly a lot for all of us to think about. But given some of Sir Frank’s jokes – “I started work when sex was safe and flying was dangerous.” – it was no surprise that his speech was so warmly received.
 

We all left with a smile

The speeches were concluded when IIRSM Chairman Paul Hopkin stood to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to IIRSM, and to highlight some of its key achievements over the past year. Paul also mentioned, among others, Steven Rands MIIRSM from the Metropolitan Police Federation, who was our free prize draw winner this year from the Safety & Health Expo 2006.
 

As always, the event was a superb opportunity for members to network with their peers and
to take stock of working life in health and safety. Everyone left the House of Lords with a smile
on their face, the business cards of new friends and contacts, and looking forward to a chance to get together again at next year’s lunch.