What we do
Health and Safety
A lack of appropriate regulation, advice and support to local businesses can increase the risks to health associated with health and safety related issues (including serious illness and death) to members of the public and employees.
Health and safety enforcement is split between local authorities and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with the relevant enforcing authority being based on the nature of the main work activity for a particular business sector. Local authorities predominantly cover the retail, consumer services, entertainment and warehousing/supply chain sectors and are responsible for around two thirds of all business premises. The HSE tend to cover larger premises such as factories. In practice, the two regulators work in partnership, with a shared and primary focus on assisting duty holders to prevent work-related accidents and ill health.
Statistics
In 1974, 651 workers were killed at work across the UK.
HSE’s annual statistics show that the number of work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain has reduced significantly by today
Ensuring the effective management of health and safety brings direct benefits to the local community, by reducing work related death, injuries and ill health, reducing the need for local public health and support for those recovering from injury and ill health and reducing the rate of business failure due to business outages caused by incidents and harm to staff, or the loss of reputation.
Local authorities carry out health and safety inspections and investigate complaints about workplaces, targeting interventions on those activities that give rise to the most serious risks or where the hazards are least well controlled.
The work carried out by Environmental Health services is undertaken as part of the Council’s responsibilities as a regulatory body. It doesn’t normally encompass the Council’s responsibility as an employer although we will support our corporate colleagues with advice.
Environmental Health Service are responsible for:
- Workplace health and safety inspections
- Investigation of complaints
- Investigation of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences (i.e. RIDDOR notifications and complaints (practice / premises)
- Advice to employers
- Planned special interventions, surveys and enforcement initiatives, e.g. targeting poor performing businesses, electrical safety in hospitality settings, Inflatable Amusement Devices, gas safety in commercial kitchens, warehouse safety
- Supporting Event Safety Advisory Groups
- Guidance in response to planning and building control applications
- Inspection and certification of petroleum sites
- Other areas include Sports Ground Safety, Cooling towers and the licensing and inspection of explosive stores