The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently released a five year strategy which sets out wide-ranging measures to further improve Great Britain’s health and safety track record. The strategy is entitled ‘Helping Great Britain Work Well’ and consists of six priority themes which the HSE say they will focus on over the coming five years.
The six strategic themes include:
1. Acting together: Promoting broader ownership of health and safety in Great Britain.
2. Tackling ill health: Highlighting and tackling the costs of work-related ill health.
3. Managing risk well: Simplifying risk management and helping business to grow.
4. Supporting small employers: Giving SMEs simple advice so they know what they have to do.
5. Keeping pace with change: Anticipating and tackling new health and safety challenges.
6. Sharing success: Promoting the benefits of Great Britain’s world-class health and safety system.
The HSE claim that wider recognition is needed of the business benefits that come with proportionate approaches to risk and that too many small and medium enterprises are still unaware that straightforward advice and simple guidance is available that can help them manage their health and safety responsibilities. The HSE say that one way to tackle this problem is to ‘horizon scan’ and ‘design-in’ effective risk management of new or emerging technologies and business models.
More information on each of the strategic themes can be accessed here.