Lord Young Blames IOSH For Health And Safety Crisis

Health and safety is in danger of "being laughed out of court", Lord David Young warned delegates at the IOSH Conference in Glasgow on 24th March.

However, instead of a message of support for the principles of  health and safety legislation, and both the HSE and IOSH, his speech simply ignored ignorant uneducated Tory attacks and those of the likes of the Daily Mail and blamed IOSH and health and safety consultants specifically.

Lord David Young, is currently carrying out a review of the state of health and safety for the Conservatives, and so does not speak from the point of concern for the health and welfare of the working people of the country. He told the conference that, in the eyes of the general public, health and safety is regarded, "at best, as an object of ridicule and, at worst, a bureaucratic nightmare".

He did not of course accept the part the Tories and their media backers have played in creating that opinion amongst the public, and ignored the fact that most of the ridiculous decision taken by some employers, local authorities and schools, are not made by individuals with thorough health and safety knowledge, and often use H&S as an excuse not to do something. Indeed many of the media stories distort H&S legislation and are often simply made up.

It is also clear that as he is carrying out the Tory review, he is, at least in part responsible for the current Tory policy of a 'free-for-all' in health and safety and in promoting their idea that big money can be made at the expense of true health and safety management and legislation by individuals and businesses setting themselves up as organisations aimed at keeping the HSE at bay. Meanwhile the toll of workplace death and injury will increase along with company profits!

IOSH has issued the following report detailing Lord David Young's speech to the IOSH Conference 2010 held in Glasgow this week:

Citing a rash of ‘elf and safety’ stories from the national media as evidence of the perilous condition in which the profession is apparently regarded, Lord Young called on IOSH to look at ways to raise standards among consultants.

He said: "It took me five long years to qualify as a solicitor before I could practice and it takes doctors even longer. Yet, I can set up as a health and safety consultant tomorrow with no qualifications in the field."

He went on: "I know that IOSH is fully aware of this and that you recommend that consultants gain the Chartered member qualification before starting out – but you don’t insist on it. I am also aware that you recommend that your members follow a 19-point code of conduct – but, again, you don’t insist on it."

The recommendations of poorly-qualified consultants, said Lord Young, are being enforced through fear of insurance claims, which, more than anything else, is giving health and safety a bad name.

He concluded: "It is up to IOSH to look to the standards of its members, not just those who practice as consultants but also your members in industry and commerce. Above all, we must bring home that health and safety is not about the elimination of all risk but about the application of common sense."

In a press statement issued after the speech, IOSH insisted that disciplinary procedures are brought against any members that break the code. It is also a requirement for any member listed on its Consultants Register to be Chartered and hold suitable indemnity insurance.

Asked by conference chair, Gavin Esler, if he meant that IOSH should have some regulatory powers to enforce standards in health and safety, Lord Young suggested that the Institution should lobby for them.

IOSH chief executive Rob Strange responded: "He confused the position of IOSH, as a Chartered professional body and charity having no statutory powers, with the law which, as it stands, makes no requirement on health and safety practitioners to be qualified.

"The law states that those who assist in managing health and safety risks need to be competent, yet it doesn’t set out what ‘competence’ actually means and how it can be achieved."

He added: "IOSH has, for five years now, been at the forefront of calling for accreditation of health and safety consultants, winning political backing, and has led sustained calls for clarity over what qualifies as ‘competent’ health and safety advice."

This theme was of course part of the Tory ThinkTank group Policy Exchange’s latest report published this week continued by Lord Young at IOSH 10 Conference this week and shows a systematic campaign amongst business and the Tory party to decimate health and safety culture within the UK.

Tory Think Tank Demands Decimation Of H&S Legislation

Source: IOSH

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