Magazine Manager Jonathan Seale
FOREWORD
Editor Katrina Kendrick
Senior Projects Manager Roger Harker
In this issue of HSE International :
Projects Manager Mike Williams
Public safety and in particular , fire safety , have been spoken about at length by the Government , MPs , councils and industry experts , in the wake of the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in June . The number of people who died in the fire will remain at about 80 , according to Scotland Yard , despite suggestions from some independent experts that the toll could be more than 100 . The incident is the largest civilian loss of life from a single event in the UK since the Hillsborough disaster .
In light of this , the UK Government has been urged to scrap its approach to deregulation of health and safety legislation . In an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May , over 70 leading organisations and figures from the UK ’ s safety and health profession jointly called for a change in attitude towards health and safety regulation and fire risk management following the tragedy .
The collective has also pressed the Government to complete its review of Part B of the Building Regulations 2010 – the regulations which cover fire safety within and around buildings in England – as a matter of urgency , and to include a focus on improved safety in the forthcoming Parliament .
As a result , a forward-looking independent review , to be led by Dame Judith Hackitt , Chair of EEF , the Manufacturers ’ Organisation , will look at current building regulations and fire safety with a particular focus on high rise residential buildings . Dame Judith Hackitt commented : “ I am honoured to be asked by government to lead this important independent review . This review will look at building regulations and fire safety to see what changes can be made for the future to make these more effective .”
It is expected that the review will present an interim report before the end of the year , and a final report no later than spring 2018 . The government will act swiftly on any recommendations from this review to make sure people living in high rise buildings are safe . Let ’ s hope this is the case and an event like this will be prevented from happening in future .
The UK and Europe have also fallen prey to several horrific terrorist attacks recently , which have caused loss of innocent life and jeopardised public safety . Between 2000 and 2015 , 90 people have been killed in the UK in terrorist attacks , according to figures from the Global Terrorism Database . Terrorism is becoming an increasing concern for Europe ’ s people , with the UK ’ s own threat level set at “ severe ” - but the figures show that Europe is one of the safest areas in the world for terrorist-related incidents . Despite this , the general public have quite rightly been shocked and surprised by the alarming number of events in recent times .
At the Safety & Health Expo , keynote speaker and twice Olympic gold medal winner , Dame Kelly Holmes addressed concerns regarding terrorism , talking about the time we find ourselves in and with recent events making a safety and health conference ever more poignant . She explained that trying to motivate and inspire at times like this could be extra hard and an audience of protection and management professionals was “ quite intimidating ”. A full review of the Expo is covered in this issue .
I personally feel it is everyone ’ s responsibility , be it in a professional or private context , to remain hopeful and to not let fear overcome our shared sense of community and love for one another . We must remain vigilant and support each other in whatever ways we can .
In these challenging times , safety and health remain at the top of our agenda at HSE International , and we will continue to champion and promote organisations and individuals who lead the way and show no fear in the face of adversity .
Jonathan Seale Magazine Manager
Production Manager Rosalie Clarke
Magazine Design Roland Scriver
Contributors
A + A BSIF BSC
BTA SIA DEB GOV . UK
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