To consider how Health and Safety is currently managed within Herefordshire Council, what recent improvements have been made to the delivery of Health and Safety in response to the KPMG audit, what further improvements are required, and how these might be achieved. 

Wards: None affected

Members considered a report which identified how the Council was currently managing its Health and Safety issues, and welcomed Ms Nia Rowlands-Cranham, Health and safety Officer, to the meeting.  Ms Rowlands-Cranham addressed the main points in the report and answered Members’ questions arising therefrom.  The report had arisen from a request by the Audit and Governance Committee at its meeting on 21 September 2012. 

The following key points were made during the discussion:

·         The management of Health and Safety issues has been improved through the formation of the Resilience Team and recruitment of staff in April 2012.  An integrated approach to risk management had been achieved through the formation of a Resilience Group, which was chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive, and was responsible for providing a steer on all areas of risk. 

·         A comprehensive audit programme for Health and Safety in schools had been established during late 2011 and to date almost 100% of schools had been inspected. 

·         KPMG had conducted an audit early in 2012 which identified some key areas of non-compliance with Health and Safety policies.  The policies had subsequently been completely revised and updated to ensure compliance with current legislation. 

·         A Council-wide Health and Safety training programme had been implemented and substantially expanded to ensure that all Managers were able to meet all of the necessary requirements.  The training had been accredited by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), and had also been tailored to meet certain specific local requirements where needed. 

·         A performance framework was being devised so that progress on Health and Safety improvements could be monitored and reported as a matter of routine, and any problem areas could be identified and addressed rapidly. 

·         Further work would be undertaken with the Council’s partners to ensure that robust contractual arrangements existed, which supported the Council’s Health and Safety policies. 

In response to questions from the Committee, the Health and Safety Officer confirmed the following:

·         Academies were able to buy into the Council’s Health and Safety programme if they wished, or alternatively, they could seek the provision of Health and Safety management from an external provider.  She confirmed that 80% of Academies had currently bought into the Council’s scheme. 

·         The Council’s Health and Safety policies were linked to its disaster recovery and management plans through the Emergency Planning and Resilience Teams. 

·         The Health and Safety Executive did not tend to conduct unannounced spot checks, but would always investigate promptly whenever a specific Health and Safety issue was raised.  She said that she would ask the Health and Safety Executive to provide information about the bases that it used for any urgent or unannounced audits. 

·         The most influential factor in ensuring that the Council was compliant with Health and Safety legislation and policies was the provision of training on workplace inspection to all Managers.  The Council’s insurers would also expect the Council to review its procedures and its risk management regularly, thereby keeping up-to-date with changes in Health and Safety legislation.  The Chief Officer (Finance and Commercial) confirmed that officers regularly met with the insurers to consider any important Health and Safety issues. 

RESOLVED:  that

(a)  the report, and the actions undertaken in response to the KPMG audit of the Health and Safety management system in January 2012, be noted;

(b)  the improvements made by the Health and Safety Team and the Resilience Group be noted; and

(c)  the Committee supports and communicates the work in progress in order to raise the Corporate Assurance Grading in respect of Health and Safety performance, in readiness for the follow-up audit by KPMG.