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June 21, 2017

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Dear Prime Minister

UPDATE: 700 signatories added after SHExpo to scrapping deregulation letter

Many signatories were added at Safety & Health Expo last week to a letter calling on prime minister Theresa May to scrap deregulation of health and safety legislation.

The four organisations that signed the letter – the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Park Health & Safety, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), and the British Safety Council – have now been joined by other leading professional bodies and individuals.

Before it was sent, the total number of signatories reached 70 but in just two days, this has now increased to over 700. Many who visited IOSH’s stand at last week’s Safety & Health Expo in London added their names there and then.

The new signatories include the Association for Project Safety (APS), Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM), National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), Trades Union Congress (TUC), and Unite the union.

In the open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, leading organisations and figures from the UK’s safety and health profession had jointly called for a political sea change in attitude towards health and safety regulation and fire risk management following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Raised doubts

Lawrence Waterman OBE CFIOSH, of Park Health & Safety Partnership who led health and safety for the London Olympic Delivery Authority, said: “Over the last few days, we’ve seen organisations review and recalibrate their buildings’ fire protection arrangements, post-Grenfell Tower.

“In effect, Grenfell has raised doubts in the minds of the decent-minded over whether building safety regulations are stringent enough, whether the Government is setting the bar too low.

“And that’s why we, in the safety sector, want Theresa May and her Ministers to rethink their ‘one in, three out’ approach to deregulation that includes health and safety.

“We’re very willing indeed to sit down with the Government to help ensure it promotes smart safety regulations that protect people without being overly burdensome – but it’s time to scrap the red tape initiative.”

The collective pressed the Government to complete its review of Part B of the Building Regulations 2010 – the regulations which cover fire safety within and around buildings in England – as a matter of urgency, and to include a focus on improved safety in the forthcoming Parliament.

The letter is signed by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Park Health & Safety, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the British Safety Council.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM), National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Unite the union have also given it their backing, alongside senior health and safety professionals.

A turning point for fire safety awareness

“We believe it is totally unacceptable for residents, members of the public and our emergency services to be exposed to this level of preventable risk in modern-day Britain,” the letter states.

“At this crucial time of national reflection and sorrow, we urge all politicians to re-emphasise the need for effective health and safety regulation and competent fire risk management. These are fundamental to saving lives and sustaining our communities.

“We believe it is vital that this disaster marks a turning point for improved fire safety awareness and wider appreciation that good health and safety is an investment, not a cost.”

In calling on the UK Government to complete its review of Part B of The Building Regulations 2010, the signatories add: “Together, we offer our organisations’ support in undertaking the review – we all have valuable links to experts in this area who can advise on best regulatory outcomes. In the meantime, we welcome the Government’s commitment to act and to implement the interim findings of the forthcoming public inquiry.

“You have it in your power to remove immediately a further risk to people at work and outside of the workplace – unwise deregulation – which threatens public and worker safety.

“We, leaders in health and safety in the UK, call on you to scrap the Government’s approach to health and safety deregulation and think again.”

For more on the safety industry response to Grenfell Tower read:

Open letter

The open letter, in full (with original signatories) is as follows:

Dear Prime Minister,

There have, understandably, been strong public reactions to the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower and its tragic consequences – the largest civilian loss of life from a single event in the UK since the Hillsborough disaster.

The occupational safety and health community is deeply saddened and disturbed by the Grenfell Tower fire and all the lives it claimed. We believe it is totally unacceptable for residents, members of the public and our emergency services to be exposed to this level of preventable risk in modern-day Britain.

Central Government and the Kensington and Chelsea local authority share responsibility for building standards and their enforcement locally, as well as for the funding and management of the maintenance of social housing. These responsibilities must be backed up with good, essential regulations.

However, for many years, Ministers and others with influence over them have called for, including in health and safety, regulations to be axed as a matter of principle. Arbitrary rules were imposed to establish deregulation of health and safety, such as a requirement to abolish two health and safety regulations (and more recently, three) for any new one adopted.

This mind-set has meant that, even when it was recommended and accepted that mandatory fitting of sprinklers would make homes or schools safer, this was rejected in favour of non-regulatory action. In practice, this approach favours inaction.

Good, well-evidenced and proportionate regulations in health and safety, based on full consultation, are developed and adopted because they save lives and protect people’s health and wellbeing. They are not “burdens on business” but provide essential protection for the public from identifiable risks.

At this crucial time of national reflection and sorrow, we urge all politicians to re-emphasise the need for effective health and safety regulation and competent fire risk management. These are fundamental to saving lives and sustaining our communities.

We believe it is vital that this disaster marks a turning point for improved fire safety awareness and wider appreciation that good health and safety is an investment, not a cost.

We call on the Government to accelerate and confirm the timeframe for completing its review of Part B of The Building Regulations 2010 and to include a focus on improved safety in the forthcoming Parliament.

Together, we offer our organisations’ support in undertaking the review – we all have valuable links to experts in this area who can advise on best regulatory outcomes. In the meantime, we welcome the Government’s commitment to act and to implement the interim findings of the forthcoming public inquiry.

You have it in your power to remove immediately a further risk to people at work and outside of the workplace – unwise deregulation – which threatens public and worker safety.

We, leaders in health and safety in the UK, call on you to scrap the Government’s approach to health and safety deregulation and think again. This could be announced immediately, it does not need to await the results of a public inquiry, and is the least that the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire deserve.

Yours sincerely,

Park Health and Safety
​Lawrence Waterman OBE

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
Graham Parker, President
Bev Messinger, Chief Executive

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
Errol Taylor, Acting Chief Executive

British Safety Council
Lynda Armstrong OBE, Chair
Mike Robinson, Chief Executive

Also supported by:

Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)
Anne Godfrey, Chief Executive

Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)
Peter Crosland, Civil Engineering Director

International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM)
Siobhan Donnelly, President
Phillip Pearson, Chief Executive

National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH)
Teresa Budworth, Chief Executive

Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Hugh Robertson, Senior Health and Safety Officer

Unite the union
Susan Murray, National Health and Safety Adviser

Stephen Asbury CFIOSH
James Barnes BSc (Hons) LFOH
Karen Baxter CMIOSH
Roger Bibbings MBE
Joe Brannigan LLB (hons) DipLP PgDip Construction Law CMIOSH
Melanie Boucher, MSc CMIOSH
David Brown RSP FIIRSM DipNEBOSH MIOSH MILM
Professor Neil Budworth MSc CFIOSH FIIRSM HonFFOM
Dr Tim Carter
Iris Cepero, Editor, Safety Management magazine
Professor John Cherrie PhD CFFOH
Arnold Clements BSc, MSc CMIOSH CEng MEI
Philip J Cullen BSc (Hons) CMIOSH
Declan Davis CMIOSH
Brian Donnachie BA (Hons) CMIOSH
Phil Dyson-Hurrell MIIRSM
Coenraad Fourie
​Lisa Fowlie MSc BSc CFIOSH FIIRSM
Shelley Frost BSc (Hons), Post Grad DipOHS, Executive Director – Policy, IOSH
Professor Alistair Gibb PhD CEng MICE MCIOB, Loughborough University
Melodie Gilbert
Dr David Gold PhD CMIOSH, Chair, IOSH Fire Risk Management Group
Robert Hackett
Neil Hancox CMIOSH, Managing Director, Safety Intervention Services
Anne Harris
Cllr Ali Hashem
Andy Hawkes, Deputy President, IIRSM
Angela Hayden CFIOSH
Clinton Horn CFIOSH
Andrew Hoskins MSc CMIOSH FIIRSM PIEMA
Chris Hughes BSc, LTT Consultancy
Ian Hughes MSc BSc (Hons) Cert Ed Dip2OSH SPDipEM CMIOSH
Kelvin Hughes CMIOSH
Dr Roberta Jacobson OBE
Clive Johnson, Council Member, IIRSM
Ann Jones MBE CFIOSH
Wayne Jones, Chair, Cardiff & South East Wales Occupational Health and Safety Group
Wendy Jones
Martin Lovegrove CMIOSH MIIRSM PIEMA
James McDonald BSc CMIOSH MREHIS
Denis Murphy CMIOSH MIIRSM RMaPS
Cllr Caroline Needham
John O’Keeffe CMIOSH
Shirley Parsons MSc CMIOSH
Louise Phillipson
Stu Pollard BSc, PgCert CMIOSH
Ian Rabett CMIOSH
Dylan Roberts
Angela Rudkin Tech IOSH
Mike Salmon MSc, CFIOSH
Jonathan Schifferes MA
Jim Senior CMIOSH
Phil Sidman MIFE, MIFPO
Karl Simons MSc MIoD CMIOSH
Dr Susan Tannahill CMIOSH
Mohammad Torabi BSc MSc MA CMIOSH
Ceiran Trow CMFOH
Graham Twigg MSc CMIOSH PIEMA
Michelle Twigg MSc CMIOSH
Alex Vaughan
Dr Emma Wadsworth, Cardiff University
Professor David Walters, Cardiff University
Louise Ward BSc (Hons) CMIOSH
Selina Woolcott BSc (Hons) DipOHS CMIOSH

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Pete Douglas
Pete Douglas
6 years ago

Should not we forget the old 1971 Fire Precautions Act – shelved by the Fire Reform Act of 2005. FRA – a tool used by the Gov of the day to save monies not lives; as they cut the Fire Brigades in the UK… Intro a Risk based set of rules for building owners to stretch/shape, all very fine as long as buildings lend themselves to it. The ’71 Act’ required a ‘Certificate’ to permit Occupation and issued by the district Fire Brigade Commands. It was a good test of precautions in place, had that been reinforced with a Full… Read more »

Ray Rapp
Ray Rapp
6 years ago
Reply to  Pete Douglas

Good points Pete. I would also add the RRFSO is a poorly drafted and confusing piece of legislation and relying on this, save for the few exceptions where the LAs licence properties e.g. HMOs, is it not time to review?