Local council to advocate ‘sensible’ risks

Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) has joined forces with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to promote a ‘sensible’ approach to risk and combat some of the silly myths which have grown up around health and safety issues.

The ‘Sensible Risk’ campaign was first launched at the Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual conference in Birmingham in July 2006, where an initial group of local authority Chief Executives signed up to the ‘ten principles of sensible risk management’.

In this latest signing, the Council has joined fellow South West Local Authorities Bristol, Devon, Exeter, Mendip, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Poole, South Somerset, South Hams, Swindon, Teignbridge and Torridge and Sedgemoor District Council, in agreeing to adopt the ‘ten principles’.

These principles give organisations practical, ‘sensible’ advice on what risk management should – and should not – encompass. Terry Rose, HSE’s Regional Director, said: “We’ve all heard the stories about health and safety banning hanging baskets or making children wear goggles to play conkers.

 “This is not what we are about – it is not what HSE wants, not what councils want and not what the law requires. We want to focus our attention on practical steps which protect people from real risks – the type of risks which can lead to injury and death. What we don’t want is to stop people from living their lives.

 ”I would like all Local Authorities in the South West to work with us to promote the key messages of the Sensible Risk campaign. Together we can embed these principles into our working culture and ensure the decisions we make focus on the real task of saving lives.”

Added Chief Executive of Bath and North East Somerset Council, John Everitt: “The principles of sensible risk should apply not only to the day jobs of Bath & North East Somerset Council staff, but also the way in which our employees deal with members of the public. 

“By signing-up to the HSE principles the Council is demonstrating its commitment to balancing our duty to protect all residents in the community with their right to enjoy a fulfilled life.”

Festivals to ban flags

Music fans have be banned from taking flags to Reading and Leeds festivals, with Glastonbury considering the same move next year. Tall flags have become common in front of stages at many UK festivals. But Melvin Benn, who runs Reading, Leeds and co-organises Glastonbury, said they were “a nightmare” because they blocked the view for many fans.

He said: “The people behind them – not immediately behind them, but 20 or 30 rows behind them – can’t see.” Flags would be confiscated at the arena gates, he said. “I’m doing everything I can to ban flags this year. For some reason those that buy a flag want to be closest to the stage.”

Mr Benn said he was also talking to Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis about introducing a ban there. Dozens of flags greeted big acts at Glastonbury this year, with fans complaining about the view during Bruce Springsteen’s headline set in particular.

“You couldn’t see the acts,” Mr Benn said. “The flags were everywhere. There have always been flags but not to the level that there has been. And the flags have become very long and tall.” He also said some people were using flags to advertise goods.

But Tony Withers, who has a flag stall at the Leeds, Glastonbury and V festivals and sells flags online, said they added to the festival atmosphere. “To many people, it makes the event,” he said. “People use them as a tent marker and then, as the show goes on, they lift them off the ground and take them to the stage. They want to get on TV – that’s the big thing now.” Reading Festival is also cracking down on crowd-surfing, where fans are passed over the heads of the audience until they reach the front.

At most concerts, fans are simply put back into the crowd when they reach the security pit below the stage. But at Reading, they will be ejected from the arena and forced to walk back to the main entrance to get back into the site. “Reading Borough Council Health & Safety team consider it quite dangerous and we will endeavour to try and limit the amount of times people will do it,” Mr Benn said. “They won’t be ejected from the festival but they’ll be ejected from the arena. What that will result in is probably around a 20-minute delay before they get back into the arena. It will certainly delay their ability to get back in to watch the band.”

Kevin Myers responds to The Mirror about ‘health & safety gone mad’

Dear Editor,

We were surprised to see two stories in The Mirror being labelled as ‘health and safety gone mad 1 and 2′ (‘Palarva’, and ‘Sorry, no barbed wire…it might injure vandals’, 5 September).

Neither of the stories quoted were about real health and safety. One concerned the misinterpretation of council rules by one of its contractors and the second was about a local authority’s fear of being sued by a trespasser.

We are as frustrated as most when organisations use ‘health and safety’ as an excuse to avoid doing things, ban activities or spoil people’s fun. In such cases, we recognise the media’s role in highlighting real instances of ‘elf and safety’, bad practice and over-zealousness and make it our business to clarify the facts and bust the myths.

Badging these stories as ‘health and safety gone mad’ is erroneous, misleading to your readers and frankly, a bit lazy.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Myers
Deputy Chief Executive
Health and Safety Executive