Agenda item

Paul Barton, Head of Corporate Safety, presented the report which highlighted the Council’s activities and performance in health and safety at work during financial year 2019/20 and recommended priorities for the coming financial year. He noted that seven incidents were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) during the year and no enforcement action had been taken.

The Chair asked what triggered reporting an incident to the HSE. Paul Barton said if someone was injured at work and was then off work for over seven days (including rest days) it would have to be reported – or if it was a major injury.

The Chair noted that 43 percent of incidents were miscoded threatening incidents and asked how that happened and if current reporting was accurate. Paul Barton said that was investigated and in the mid-year report the ‘other’ category had been properly coded. The majority were cases where the category wasn’t clear, so more information had been provided to give confidence when selecting a category.

Councillor Rowan Ree noted the 105 incidents of intimidation or violence towards staff and asked how many resulted in police action. Paul Barton said he could provide figures after the meeting.

ACTION: Paul Barton

Councillor Ree, noting that most staff were working from home, asked if officers had taken greater precautions to detect fires in the buildings the Council managed. Paul Barton said they had changed the policy so all managerial grades within occupied spaces were now appointed first aid status and fire evacuation coordinators. They were all provided training to address the shortfall in fully qualified officers who may not be in buildings anymore.

Councillor Alexandra Sanderson asked how many schools in the borough had asbestos in them now. Paul Barton said he didn’t know the exact number, but it was being managed in all that did. There were annual re-inspections of all schools with asbestos and improved training had been provided for school staff, so they were aware of their responsibilities for asbestos management in schools.

Councillor Jonathan Caleb-Landy asked about the relatively high number of safety incidents in libraries (appendix 1) and why H&F’s libraries had higher numbers than Chelsea library. Paul Barton said the difference could be due to H&F’s good reporting culture. He expected the numbers to plateaux over the next few years.

Councillor Caleb-Landy asked what training was provided in libraries and what the staff survey satisfaction was like for library staff. Officers said they would follow up on this outside of the meeting.

ACTION: Paul Barton

Councillor Caleb-Landy asked if officers were assured that the situation in libraries was due to good reporting – and not serious concerns about public behaviour towards library staff. Paul Barton said they had done detailed audits of libraries which had provided assurance. They had also promulgated a zero-tolerance campaign.

Councillor Caleb-Landy said he would like to see what enforcement action had been taken in incidents of violence – and asked that this be included as standard in future reports.

ACTION: Paul Barton

Councillor Matt Thorley asked for confirmation that the improvements to Cobbs Hall had now been made. Paul Barton said they had been completed on time.

Councillor Thorley said it would be beneficial to see trend data over the previous 2 or 3 years for safety incidents in future reports.

ACTION: Paul Barton

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the report.