Agenda item

Health and Safety Mid-Year Report 2020-21

Minutes:

Paul Barton, Head of Corporate Safety, presented the report which highlighted the Council’s activities and performance in health and safety at work at the half-year stage in financial year 2020 / 2021. It also recommended priorities for the remainder of the financial year.

 

The Chair noted that roads had been quieter during the pandemic but there had been an increase in extreme speeding. A lot more people were also walking and cycling. He asked if there had been an impact on how staff get around the borough. Paul Barton said all staff had been given supplementary information about travelling safety on public transport. There hadn’t been any major changes to staff driving but there had been one incident – an accident that took place post-lockdown.

 

Councillor Alexandra Sanderson asked if the Council had enough personal protection equipment (PPE) and if it was all of adequate quality. Paul Barton said the Council did have enough. Not all of the PPE received was adequate but that was rejected before it was issued to staff.

 

Lisa Redfern, Strategic Director of Social Care, added that Paul had worked closely with the Covid-19 team and didn’t issue any PPE that wasn’t of the appropriate standard. The Council had spent over £2.5m on PPE and continued to provide to care homes and home care providers with PPE – above and beyond what many boroughs were doing. Lisa Redfern said Paul had worked really closely with the Covid team to ensure the proper provision of PPE and had also worked closely with providers who initially needed a lot of training on using the PPE safety. She said he had been a ‘critical part of the team’.

 

Councillor Sanderson, noting that many staff were working from home, asked if there had been risk assessment reviews of display screens and if this extended to the suitability of the work environment. Paul Barton said all staff were required to complete a display screen equipment (DSE) evaluation and the Council had provided separate screens, laptop risers, mice, keyboards, and chairs where required.

 

Councillor Sanderson asked what counted as an accident at work if people were working from home – and how they would be tracked. Paul Barton said a workplace incident related to workplace equipment or the work process. Only one had been reported – an injured on a piece of equipment the Council had provided.

 

Councillor Sanderson asked what the protocol was for reporting incidents and how confident he was that the Council was capturing everything. Paul Barton said there had been lots of communication with managers to encourage reporting and there was a general requirement for all staff to report accidents at work.

 

Councillor Sanderson asked what wellbeing initiatives were in place for staff. Paul Barton said the Council was involved in the Healthy Workplace scheme, focusing on mental health.

 

Kim Smith, Chief Executive, added that there had also been a raft of work by the Transformation, Talent and Inclusion team, most notably the ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ sessions open to all staff. The sessions had covered debt management, isolation, bereavement, and a number of black history month events. The Council had also put together a new ‘Ways of Working’ guide for staff with tips and advice that was recently featured in an LGA case study.

 

Councillor Caleb-Landy asked for more information on the rise in cases at the Haven. Jacqui McShannon, Director of Children’s Services, explained that the Haven offered very intensive care for children with complex needs and very challenging behaviours. There had been concerns in the past around poor practice but now a new behaviour support service had been partly implemented which provided a more consistent approach to behaviour management. Children’s Services reported all incidents to Ofsted for scrutiny, review and learning. Councillor Caleb-Landy said it would be good to see that work documented in the full year report.

 

ACTION: Paul Barton / Jacqui McShannon

 

Councillor Sanderson asked if the high number of incidents relating to parking was normal. Paul Barton said unfortunately it was. Parking enforcement officers were given conflict resolution training and breakaway training will be refreshed after the pandemic.

 

Councillor Thorley asked what assessments of air quality had been undertaken at Council offices. Paul Barton said this had been considered at Health and Safety Board and he had assurance for all buildings that the air quality service and maintenance was appropriate.

 

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the report.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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