IOSH has welcomed David Cameron’s plans to address burdensome health and safety regulations, saying he has opened up a “much-needed debate on risk and responsibility”.
As a result, says the Institution, we could end up with a “more risk-intelligent society, characterised by a greater awareness and understanding of sensible risk management”.
Said IOSH president John Holden: “Our attitude to risk has got stuck in an uneasy contradiction: on the one hand we won’t tolerate risks or mistakes, but neither do we want to be controlled or nannied. ”In an increasingly individualistic society, we now seem able to hold two completely divergent views at the same time — ‘I want to take the risks I want to take but I don’t want to be exposed to any risks that are not of my making’ and ‘I want those who are involved in accidents to be held accountable, whatever the circumstances’.”
John welcomed the Conservative leader’s challenge, issued in his speech at political think-tank Policy Exchange on 1 December, to end the ‘culture of blame’. “Without a doubt,” he said, “it would do all of us a power of good to get some sensible risk management back in the equation, to come to terms with the fact we’ll never exist in a risk-free world, and get on with our lives in enterprising, creative, innovative and successful ways.”
IOSH said it will be keen to influence the Conservatives’ planned review of health and safety legislation, to be headed by Lord Young, particularly to support the Working Time Directive and current UK health and safety standards. In particular, it will emphasise that the UK has no need to ‘gold-plate’ EU legislation, as the flexibility of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act enables a more balanced interpretation than in other European countries of what health and safety protection needs to be put in place.
As for the 202 statutory instruments that have come into force since Labour came to power, IOSH will be underlining the critical nature of some of these, including regulations governing the control of asbestos, offshore safety, noise at work, and decommissioning of nuclear reactors.
