Agenda item

This report presents the Annual Health and Safety report for 2023/24. It provides an overview of South Kesteven District Council’s management of health and safety. It summarises progress made and areas of focus for the coming year and identifies the accident rates and types for this period. This report includes the Emergency Planning and Business Continuity actions and plan for that same period.

The Annual Health and Safety Report 2023/24 was presented by the Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing. 

Before proceeding the Cabinet Member praised the Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead for producing this detailed report and congratulated the officer on his contribution to the Council’s response to the flood events that occurred earlier in the year.

The Annual Health and Safety Report 2023/24 summarised that SKDC’s overall performance was ‘strong with a good level of assurance that key areas have robust policies and procedures with risk mitigation in place.’ Notable instances of this were passing an inspection into the use and storage of chemicals with no concerns raised and SKDC’s swift response to emergencies as was aptly demonstrated during the instances of flooding. 

Despite this, there were other noteworthy aspects of the report such as an increase in accident reports and near miss reporting.

Following the presentation by the Cabinet Member, Committee Members discussed the following:

-       Clarity was sought regarding the current number of Fire Wardens and First Aiders. The Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead confirmed there to be 43 employees who were currently Fire Wardens and 12 First Aiders. These Fire Wardens were trained and qualified to serve for a period of three years. The officer confirmed this to be sufficient as they had deliberately over-recruited to compensate for the current hybrid/flexi working arrangements. That said, the officer reported that they would be continuing to recruit more.

-       A Member asked for reassurance that efforts would be made to co-ordinate the presence of a Fire Warden when Committees were in session. The Member suggested training Democratic Service Officers for this given that their attendance was consistent. It was noted that this was already in place.

-       In line with the attention given to Fire Safety wardens, a Member queried whether these individuals were trained to deal with bomb threats. The Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead responded that there was a separate procedure for this which is being updated to complement the opening of the new Customer Service Centre.

-       The scope of SKDC’s health and safety remit and liability was questioned in the context of homeworking. The Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead clarified that an accident by a staff member working at home was highly unlikely to be the responsibility of SKDC, however this would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, the officer did acknowledge that SKDC did ask for details on staff members homeworking stations to ensure that basic health and safety needs were met and to give advice and support where necessary.

-       Given the significant increase in slips, trips, and falls reported, a Member queried whether there had indeed been an increase in these instances, or whether this had been due to an increase in reporting the instances. The Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead clarified that the likelihood was a combination of both and pointed out that 23 of these instances were members of the public or theatre performers of which there was no fault of SKDC.

-       The Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead was asked by a Member to clarify what constitutes as being a genuine ‘near miss’ within the report. The officer explained that they are taken on a case-by-case basis and reviewed to logically follow the alleged sequence of events or consult any witnesses.

-       A Member reiterated the praise towards the Emergency Planning and Health and Safety Lead for the detailed report and the progress made.

Following the discussion, as per the recommendation the Chairman confirmed that the Committee:

-       1. Noted the attached Health and Safety report for the period 2023/24.

-       2. Provided comments or feedback to assist with maintaining the effectiveness of the Council’s health and safety arrangements.