Agenda and minutes

It was announced at the start of the meeting that Gary Quilter had replaced John Smithson as a Full Member of the Employees’ side of the Panel.

The approved Terms of Reference for the West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel, requires that Chairmanship of the Panel shall alternate between the Employer’s and Employees’ sides.  When the Chairman is a Member of one side of the Panel, the Vice-Chairman shall be a Member of the other side. 

In 2017/2018, a Chairman is required to be elected from the Employees’ Side.

The Panel is requested to ELECT a Chairman in accordance with this arrangement.

It was proposed, seconded and

                        RESOLVED – That Paul Goodspeed be elected

                                            Chairman of the Panel for 2017/2018.

The approved Terms of Reference for the West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel requires that Vice-Chairmanship of the Panel shall alternate between the Employer’s and Employees’ side.

As the Chairman of the Panel shall be from the Employees’ side, in 2017/2018, a Vice-Chairman is required to be appointed from the Employer’s Side.

The Panel is requested to APPOINT a Vice-Chairman in accordance with this arrangement.

It was proposed, seconded and

                        RESOLVED – That Councillor Patrick Chung be appointed

                                            Vice-Chairman of the Panel for 2017/2018.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bob Cockle from the Employer’s Side and Natasha Brockett from the Employees’ Side.

Any Member who is substituting for another Member should so indicate together with the name of the relevant absent Member.

Stephanie Grayling declared that she would be substituting for Natasha Brockett from the Employees’ Side.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2017 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held Monday 20 February 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Report No: HSP/JT/17/004

The Panel received and noted Report No: HSP/JT/17/004 (previously circulated) which incorporated the notes of the Joint Health and Safety Group Meeting held 10 May 2017.

Report No: HSP/JT/17/005

The Panel received and noted Report No: HSP/JT/17/005 (previously circulated) which provided statistics relating to accidents/incidents involving Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council employees and members of the public from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) drew relevant issues to the attention of the Panel, including providing details of the types and locations of accidents/incidents of employees and members of the public during the reporting period. He then reported the amount of days lost due to workplace accidents/incidents during the months December 2016 to March 2017.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) also brought attention to a new safety device that was being trialled by visiting staff, known as a ‘Skyguard’. He explained that the Skyguard had been introduced to provide greater protection to lone workers by using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that could track a member of staff’s location. In an emergency situation staff could activate the device to track their location and open up a two way communication channel between themselves and the monitoring station. If required the monitoring station could then contact the police and direct them to the location of the member of staff in need of assistance. Once the device had been activated, all communication would be recorded and could be used as evidence at a later stage if necessary.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) to give an oral report.

The Panel received and noted a verbal report on the amended dynamic lockdown procedures at West Suffolk House.

The Service Manager gave an explanation on the procedure that had been put in place to lockdown the building in the event of an external threat. The Panel were advised that the procedure would be tested across West Suffolk House with the relevant Officers involved and were informed that once the procedure had been tested successfully, it would be rolled out to all other Council buildings.

The Panel held a brief discussion and asked questions of the Service Manager to which responses were provided.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) to give an oral report.

The Panel received and noted a verbal report on the Workplace Wellbeing Charter that the Council had been working towards achieving in the last 18 months.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) explained the initiative behind the Workplace Wellbeing Charter and provided examples of events the Council had supported and highlighted those that had been particularly successful. 

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) to give an oral report.

The Service Manager (Health and Safety) gave a verbal update on recent cases that had received coverage for breaching Health and Safety regulations and assured that no breaches of a similar nature had occurred at the West Suffolk councils.  An update on Health and Safety legislation relating to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union was also provided.

The following dates, times and locations have been set for the next meetings of the Panel:

Monday 16 October 2017 at 2.00pm at West Stow Country Park; and

Monday 19 February 2018 at 4.00pm at Forest Heath District Council Offices.

The Panel agreed the following dates, venues and times for the next meetings:

·         16 October 2017 at 2.00pm at West Stow Country Park

·         19 February 2018 at 4.00pm at Forest Heath District Council Offices