Issue - meetings

The Health and Safety Officer introduced the report which gave an overview of all aspects of health and safety for the council over the past year. He said that there was nothing of any real significance to note, and that he was happy to take any Members questions.

Councillor Connolly referred to paragraph 3.2 of the report and said that she was pleased to see that a review of contract management, inspection regimes and compliance monitoring was to be undertaken. She asked if the leisure contractor (SLM) would be included in this process, and requested that Members receive feedback on the outcomes of the review.

The Health and Safety Officer said that SLM would be included in the review – with any unusual patterns investigated. He confirmed that Members would receive such feedback.

Councillor Connolly referred to paragraph 5.24 of the report which referred to the work undertaken to encourage colleagues to report incidents and near miss events.  She noted that the incidents and near misses, as listed on page 148 of the report, were quite significant and included harassment. Councillor Connolly and asked if these were downplayed, and if data from reporting was used to aid the prevention of such events.

The Health and Safety Officer said that the council was mindful of the impact which such incidents had on staff, and that measures were in place to help. He said that everybody’s tolerance was different, with more experienced officers able to filter out, and that certain service areas, such as Benefits and Planning, tended to evoke the more emotive/ extreme reactions from customers. He said that such events should be reported to enable the data to be used to mitigate offender’s impact on staff.      

It was moved by Councillor Willcocks and seconded by Councillor Connolly, that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that (A) the Annual Health and Safety Report 2024/25 be considered, and

(B)   any comments/amendments provided to the Service Manager of Human Resources and Organisational Development and the Health and Safety Officer.