The British Safety Council has announced its support for the Health at Work Policy Unit at The Work Foundation, part of Lancaster University, a leading provider of evidence-based research and policy advice.
Launched in 2014, the Health at Work Policy Unit is focused on providing an independent, evidence-based voice on the public debate around health and wellbeing at work. The British Safety Council is to support the next two years of its work, which will include developing policy briefs, undertaking new policy research and creating a sustained voice in government and media.
Professor Stephen Bevan, director of the Health and Work Policy Unit, who spoke last week at the British Safety Council’s annual conference, ‘Health and safety – what’s next?’, commented: “We’re delighted that the British Safety Council has joined as a sponsor of the Health at Work Policy Unit and we look forward to working closely together to promote the health at work agenda. After a year of proactively putting our concerns across through evidence-based policy reports and recommendations, we’re now at a point where the government is starting to listen and where we can expect to create positive change for health and well-being in the workplace.”
Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said: “With the HSE reporting that for the period 2013/14, there were 1.2 million people who were suffering from an illness – long-standing as well as new cases – they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work, the agenda around occupational health is clear. As a result, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to support the research of the Health at Work Policy Unit under the direction of Professor Stephen Bevan.”
