Announced as part of the government’s plans to reform Britain’s health and safety system, by reducing the burden of legislation on UK businesses, the 2011 Löfstedt Review was also tasked with maintaining on-going progress in the sector. When announced in May, the review was described as the first step in reducing bureaucracy and bringing ‘common-sense’ back to Britain’s health and safety legislation.
To highlight some of the most important topics in this area, including how government health and safety policy and law reform is set to change following the publication of the Löfstedt Review, Health & Safety South – taking place on the 28-29 February 2012 at the Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher in Surrey – will discuss these issues and others through its seminar programme.
The seminar programme, organised by the British Safety Council, includes a presentation on Current directions in government policy, by Dr Paul Almond, a senior lecturer in Law at the University of Reading. Dr Almond researches issues of criminal law, health and safety law, regulations and enforcement and criminological theory. His PhD looked at HSE enforcement policy in relation to work-related fatality cases, and he has published widely on the relationship between health and safety regulation and criminal enforcement.
Also confirmed to speak at the two-day event is Mark Tyler, a solicitor and chartered safety and health practitioner, whose experience includes, in addition to many high-profile Health and Safety Executive prosecutions, the BSE Inquiry, the Southall and Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiries, the Organophosphate chemicals group litigation, MMR vaccination claims and Legionnaires Disease cases. His presentation entitled, ‘The Legal Scene in 2012’ will highlight how health and safety law and policy is set for its greatest changes in two decades.
The presentation will explain the implications of the law reform issues coming out of the Löfstedt Review and look at the future of enforcement and penalties. Mark Tyler will also seek to explain the increasing liability risks that safety managers face it they fall short of professional standards.
Health and Safety South event director, Tim Else said “When the government announced the commencement of the Löfstedt Review earlier this year the objectives were clearly to simplify health and safety legislation and reduce the burden on UK businesses; however, following the consultation process that has taken place with various industry bodies, it has received a mixed response from members of the health and safety sector and it remains unclear just how big an impact this review will have on the sector as we know it.
“Through our free seminar programme, we hope to provide further clarity on the subject and highlight just how it might impact on the day-to-day running of businesses. Working with our educational partner, the British Safety Council, we believe we have put together a seminar programme that is relevant to today’s health and safety practitioner and which provides them with all the information they need to know to do their job”.
Along with event partners 3M, Ansell, Arco and DuPont, Health & Safety South is supported by the British Safety Council and officially endorsed by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM).
Register online at www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk.