177
The Committee considered a report setting out the Council’s approach to its responsibilities for safeguarding the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and specific duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Councillor King, Portfolio Holder for Business and Resources, Carl Free, Corporate Health and Safety Officer and Hayley McGrath, Corporate Governance Manager attended to present the report and assist the Committee. The Committee were requested to consider the draft Health and Safety Policy, and agree the changes made which were required for 2019/20. The Committee were advised that it was appropriate to review the policy on an annual basis and that there were minor changes only to the Health and Safety Policy concerning the change of responsibility for Health and Safety in the organisation, and the differing requirements for the commercial companies established by the Council.
The Committee was advised that as part of the ongoing work that was required to keep the policy up to date, audits were carried out, and in the past year these had focussed on ill health, driving at work and security. The safety element of the policy was well developed and the focus had switched to less obvious, but equally serious concerns such as musculoskeletal disorders and stress, which in the past may have been more unnoticed. Considerable work would be put into identifying sources of stress throughout the organisation and then taking appropriate steps to address this stress. The Committee was advised that particular consideration had been given to the safety of staff and violence towards them, as it had been noted that police response times had become slower.
Carl Free explained that he was particularly keen to promote the ‘near miss’ reporting procedure which had been adopted, which ensured that near miss accidents are also reported. This allowed remedial measures to be taken to prevent future incidents from actually occurring.
Councillor Willetts referred to section 4.1 of the Health and Safety Policy and commented that the Council delivered a number of services through external companies. He considered that this could lead to a situation where a number of Health and Safety policies could be in force at the same time for different individuals. This could be potentially confusing. He suggested that the correct approach would be to strive for one policy to cover all associated Council business. In response, Carl Free confirmed that it was a legal requirement for each company to have their own Health and Safety Policy. However, Colchester Borough Council provided advice and assistance on these policies and related procedures. The Corporate Governance Manager kept an overview of these policies to ensure they were consistent
Councillor Dundas asked about the policy on company vehicles and maintenance between MOT inspections, and in particular whether or not Colchester Borough Council applied the same requirements to its own vehicles as were applied to hackney carriage vehicles, who were required to address any advisory notes on an MOT within a certain period of time. Carl Free advised that Council vehicles were subject to a daily check and a more thorough weekly check to ensure that the standards required were maintained.
Councillor Wood enquired whether there was any regular assessment of drivers eyesight and Carl Free confirmed that following on from a recent audit, this was an area which was being focussed on to improve the level of testing carried out.
Councillor Pearson praised the work that had been done on near miss reporting, and questioned whether this was a process that would potentially take second place to other work and asked what could be done to ensure that reports were submitted. Carl Free explained that the process for reporting a near miss had been made as simple as possible both online and via physical cards which were available in all Council building and vehicles, and which required far less information that a report of a full accident. The importance of reporting near misses was also now incorporated into every health and safety staff briefing and training for managers.
Councillor Pearson noted that the policy specifically referred to the responsibility of Cabinet in respect of the Health and Safety. He considered that it would be appropriate for the report to be presented to Cabinet for noting to ensure that Cabinet was aware of the work being done to ensure a proper approach to Health and Safety. Councillor King indicated that Cabinet would be pleased to receive the report.
RESOLVED that:-
(a) The Health and Safety Annual Report covering the period January to October 2019 be noted;
(b) The changes to the Health and Safety Policy required for 2019/20 be approved.
(c) The report considered by the Governance and Audit Committee, together with the Health and Safety Policy 2019/20 be referred to Cabinet for its consideration, in view of its responsibilities for Health and Safety.