Refocus on the real and highest risk: occupational ill health - BOHS’s response to Lord Young’s Report on Health and Safety

We welcome Lord Young’s Report and support much of its tone and many of its recommendations.  In particular, we are pleased that Lord Young has recognised that media focus has given undue attention to safety issues that are of trivial risk and that many of these appear to be related to public safety and arise from poor standards of competence and/or actions focused on perceived risk of legal action rather than real risk to health or safety.

In addition, Lord Young’s review has supported some of our practical and proactive recommendations for greater recognition of the diverse and specialist disciplines engaged in health and safety and the competencies in specialist areas, and for the need to ensure that individuals offering consultancy services belong to the appropriate specialist health and safety professional body, i.e. one that operates rigorous qualification schemes, formal assessment systems and evidence of sustainability linked to high quality Continuous Professional Development (CPD) schemes, which in the case of occupational hygiene, is the BOHS Faculty of Occupational Hygiene.

Some of the Report’s recommendations are complex and ambitious.  In particular, BOHS advocates caution in relation to the proposal to re-examine RIDDOR, as future decisions about health and safety need to be based on accurate data, and the proposal to consolidate all health and safety legislation into one set of regulations represents a significant challenge.