Monday: judgement day for UK health and safety

There’s a palpable sense of anticipation surrounding the outcome of Monday’s review of health and safety legislation.

A lot’s riding on the content of Professor Lofstedt’s announcement. For IOSH, it feels a bit like waiting to find out whether you got that job you made such a good impression over at the interview. Not that the man tasked with reviewing the UK’s health and safety legislation bears much resemblance to Lord Sugar. But all IOSH can do now – just as other organisations who’ve made their point and put their suggestions across – is sit and wait to hear whether their pitch made enough of an impact to play a part in forming the framework that will shape the future of health and safety in the UK.



In truth, we’re more confident than this would perhaps give credit to – after all, we know many of our suggestions on the direction of the review have hit home with those leading it. But the corridors at The Grange certainly bear the sounds of quickened footsteps, circumspect planning and a renewed sense of urgency in making sure the responses to the report that form our key mantra to members, media and politicians, are the right ones.

Nevertheless, placing confidence in the fact that you’ve done your best is no substitute for knowing the end result - even when that confidence has been gleaned from approving nods and acknowledgements from the likes of Prof Lofstedt and Employment Minister Chris Grayling. Our well-founded arguments that current health and safety legislation is appropriate, that accreditation is important, and that good health and safety boosts the economy have all been noted in Whitehall.

It was with this culmination of a lot of hard work in mind, where at Inside Government’s Reforming Health and Safety at Work last week (Thursday 17 November) I noticed – with a degree of bemusement and a touch of comfort - that it wasn’t just IOSH waiting with bated breath, shifting on the edge of our seats.

Words like “hope”, “concern” and “expect” became synonymous with speakers forecasting and discussing what the content of Lofstedt’s review might include. These words illustrated that it didn’t matter whether they were from a council, the fire and rescue service, education, law – everyone with a vested interest in good health and safety was singing from the same hymn sheet. They all voiced the core message which said that we don’t want worker protection eroded, we want common sense to reign supreme, and we just want to be able to do our job.

Let’s hope that come Monday – health and safety’s own judgment day of sorts – Professor Lofstedt is on the same page.

Follow IOSH_tweets, this blog and our Facebook page for news, opinions and updates following the release of the review. For IOSH members, look our for a special issue of Connect on Monday afternoon.

Ruth.