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Councils on the case to reduce injuries at work

Released: 22 Jan 2010

Adur and Worthing councils have joined a new countywide initiative aimed at reducing injuries at work by improved health and safety.

From 1 February 2010 all thirteen Sussex Local Authorities and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will join forces to promote and encourage safe practices within the workplace.

The objective of the project is to reduce injuries and ill health in the workplace through raising awareness, education and by taking enforcement action where necessary.

Statistics for the South East produced by the Labour Force Survey for 2008/9 say 15 people were fatally injured at work, 3,586 employees received major injuries at work and 4.9 million working days were lost because of workplace injury and work-related ill health.

The initiative, called CASE ‘Common Approach to Sussex Enterprise’ will run for six weeks and involve inspections to workplaces to assess standards of health and safety management.

The inspections will focus on the assessment and control of risks associated with the causes of accidents and ill health in Sussex. Subjects high up the list for checking are:

workplace transport
manual handling
work at height
and asbestos.

Not only will they be checking how employers control risks to their own staff but also others who may be affected, including the public.
Flexible warrants allow inspectors from local authorities to inspect sites traditionally covered by HSE and vice versa. Although there have been previous joined-up campaigns with the HSE, this is the largest initiative involving all the local authorities within the county.

The initiative has been preceded by a mail shot to employers to forewarn them that visits may take place. The mailshot explained the purpose and provided employers with an opportunity, in advance of any inspection, to review the measures in place.

Adur and Worthing Council’s executive head of housing health & community safety, Paul Spedding, said:

"This initiative is part of a concerted effort by HSE and local authorities to work together more effectively to ensure workplace hazards are adequately controlled.

"Businesses who have received the mailshot letter should take time to review how health and safety is being currently managed on their sites and take any remedial action required to ensure compliance with current health and safety legislation.

"Inspectors visiting workplaces, during the initiative, will offer relevant advice but will not hesitate to take enforcement action if health and safety standards are found to be poor."

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