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Hayley McGrath, Corporate Governance Manager, and Carl Free, Corporate Health and Safety Officer, attended the meeting to present the Annual Health and Safety Review 2018/19 report. The report requests that the Committee review the Health and Safety Policy to ensure that it is still appropriate to the Council’s needs, and continues to be effective in identifying and mitigating health and safety risks.
Hayley McGrath explained to the Committee that the Annual Health and Safety report was not a statutory requirement but as it is part of risk management framework they felt it was good practice to bring to the Committee on a yearly basis. The report provides information on internal Health and Safety issues, as well as how Colchester Borough Council ensures that staff and visitors are kept safe within our buildings and when providing services.
Hayley McGrath informed the Committee that within the last four years the Health and Safety process has been revamped and in the last two years a substantial assurance rating has been achieved from internal audit which highlights the improvements made. Hayley McGrath then highlighted the work that Carl Free and the team had undertaken in 2017/18, with a key issue being working on improving arrangements for lone workers, which included the introduction of a new monitoring system that includes both GPS tracking and alarms. Initial feedback following the rollout of this system has been positive.
The Committee asked for the possibility of a fire drill taking place at a Full Council meeting as they have never been part of a fire drill at that time before. It was also suggested that when Councillors are first elected to the authority, they are shown evacuation points as part of their training.
RESOLVED that;
a)
The revised Health and Safety Policy for 2018/19 be agreed and to
RECOMMEND to COUNCIL that it be included in the Council’s Policy Framework.
b)
The Committee considered and commented on the Council’s progress and performance in managing Health & Safety during the period October 2017 to September 2018.