Issue - meetings

To present the Council’s revised Health, Safety and Welfare Policy to the Executive.

Decision

That the Health, Safety and Welfare Policy June 2019 be approved.

None.

The Council’s Health, Safety and Welfare Policy had been reviewed and consulted upon and, subject to approval at this meeting, would supersede the existing policy approved in 2016.

The document was one of the essential building blocks in contributing to an effective and successful health and safety management system, comprising four sections setting out responsibilities for health and safety across the organisation and arrangements in place to manage health and safety. The four sections were noted as follows:

·         Section One – General Policy Statement. There were no proposed revisions to this part of the policy;

·         Section Two – Organisation for Health and Safety. The health, safety and welfare of volunteers and partnerships working with the Council had been included and defined within the policy;

·         Section Three – Arrangements for Health and Safety. The revision had material changes to sections on:

-       Supplementary Polices, namely the inclusion of the Council’s Asbestos Policy and Fire Policy Statement, together with a Construction Design and Management Statement. Also included were policies regarding managing stress, flexible working, a driving policy which replaced use of fleet vehicles and use of own vehicles, health surveillance policies and General Data Protection Regulations.

-       Risk Assessment, which now included working at height, control of hand arm vibration and control of noise;

-       A minor word change associated with the incident reporting section.

·         Section Four – Monitoring and Review of the Health and Safety Policy. The only proposed change was that the policy be reviewed every four years.

A copy of the final draft of the Health, Safety and Welfare Policy, incorporating the above proposed amendments, was appended to the report. Also appended to the report was an extract of the minutes from the meeting of the City of Lincoln Council and Employee Joint Consultative (Health, Safety and Welfare) Committee held on 2 July 2019 which recommended approval of the proposed changes.