14 - Chief Executive's Service - Annual Health and Safety Report 2022-23 and Action Plan 2023-24
Renfrewshire Council · 8 June 2023
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 8 June 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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_________________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 08 June 2023 Report By: Chief Executive Heading: Chief Executive’s Service – Annual Health and Safety Report 2022/2023 and Action Plan 2023/2024 1. Summary 1.1 The Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy requires each service to submit an annual report and an annual Health and Safety action plan to the relevant Policy Board. 1.2 The Chief Executive’s Service annual progress report is attached as Appendix 1. It sets out the arrangements for the management of health, safety and wellbeing within the service, demonstrates the service’s commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety performance in accordance with the Corporate Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-2022 and summarises the achievements from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. 1.3 In terms of looking forward, the Chief Executive’s Service action plan for 2023/2024 is attached as Appendix 2 to this report. It sets out the planned actions the service will undertake during 2023/2024, outlining the service’s commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety performance in accordance with the Corporate Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-2022. The action plan will be reviewed during the course of the reporting year due to the restructuring of services with Community Learning & Development moving into the service and procurement now falling under Finance & Resources. ________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board:
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i) notes the content of the annual report attached at Appendix 1; and ii) approves the Chief Executive’s Service health and safety action plan for 2023/2024 at Appendix 2. __________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Chief Executive’s Service delivers a range of strategic services within the organisation. We do this through a range of activities delivered across our service areas: policy and partnerships, economy and development, City Deal and infrastructure, and communications, marketing and events. Our services are delivered by 227 employees, led by the Chief Executive who is supported by the Head of Policy and Partnerships, the Head of Marketing and Communications, the Head of Economy and Development, and the Programme Director (City Deal and Infrastructure). As of 1 April 2023, procurement transferred to Finance and Resources, and services focused on community development have transferred into the Chief Executive’s service under the Head of Policy and Partnerships including the Community, Learning & Development service area. 3.2 The Chief Executive’s Service Head of Policy and Partnerships is the lead officer for health and safety within the service and is supported by the Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager. Health and safety remain a key priority within the service with the annual report being reviewed by the senior management team. 3.3 The Chief Executive’s Service has a proactive approach and commitment to health and safety which is supported by the service’s working group. The Council will be progressing and moving to the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management system. This international standard replaces BS OHSAS: 18001 and sets the framework for an effective system to control health and safety risks to employees. The working group will be integral to achieving this with the support of managers. 3.4 As with other Council services, employees have been hybrid working, splitting their working week between home and office. The service has adapted its processes and procedures to ensure that standards for all employees working from home or in the office are maintained, with the health and wellbeing of employees being a priority. The service’s health and safety working group has continued to meet virtually, with the current focus being wellbeing, intervention, and Display Screen Equipment self- assessments for all employees.
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The group have cascaded all corporate health and safety bulletins and undertaken regular monitoring to ensure a biennial DSE assessment has been completed for employees within the Business World system. Heads of Service and managers have had regular wellbeing ‘check ins’ with their employees and completed Occupational Health assessments if additional support is required. 3.5 The annual report 2022/2023 (Appendix 1) provides information on the implementation of the Council’s health, safety and wellbeing policy including the management of health and safety within the service; oversight arrangements for health and safety management; and overview of health and safety during 2022/2023. 3.6 The action plan 2023/2024 identifies areas for future and continued action which is included as Appendix 2 to this report. The action plan is monitored on a quarterly basis by the service’s health and safety working group and an annual progress report will be presented to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in Spring 2024. Priority will be given to ensure any current actions relating to Community Learning & Development are transferred across and incorporated into the service action plan. 3.7 The preparation of this annual report and action plan has been supported by the Finance and Resources, People and OD (FAR, People & OD) Health and Safety Team. Implications of the Report 1. Financial Implications – None. 2. HR & Organisational Development Implications – This report has taken into account the restructuring of services with Community Learning & Development now part of the Chief Executives Service and procurement having left the service and now report to Finance & Resources. 3. Community/Council Planning Implications – None. 4. Legal Implications – None. 5. Property/Assets Implications – None. 6. Information Technology Implications – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights Implications - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website.
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8. Health & Safety Implications - The report supports and demonstrates the Council and the Chief Executive’s service’s commitment to ensuring effective health and safety management. 9. Procurement Implications - None. 10. Risk Implications - The report supports the overarching management of risk within Renfrewshire Council. 11. Privacy Impact Implications - None. 12. Cosla Policy position – None. 13. Climate Risk – None. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Pamela McDonald, pamela.mcdonald@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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APPENDIX 1 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SERVICE ANNUAL HEALTH & SAFETY REPORT Overview of 2022/2023
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1. Introduction 1.1 This annual report has been prepared by the Chief Executive’s Service in accordance with Renfrewshire Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy and Plan as well as the Corporate Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-2022 the purpose of which is to evaluate the health and safety performance of the service and set future health and safety objectives. 2. Management of health and safety within the service 2.1 The corporate policy on health, safety and wellbeing was revised and approved in December 2021. The current policy outlines the organisational responsibilities of the Chief Executive, managers, employees and others (eg. fire wardens, first aiders) with regard to health and safety. The following details are included: the health and safety arrangements within the service; the specific information regarding health and safety advice and training; and how to raise health and safety concerns and how to report an accident. 2.2 The policy is available for employees to read within the service or from the Chief Executive’s Service health and safety page on the intranet. While the Chief Executive has overall responsibility for the implementation of the policy, the Senior Management Team and managers have a general responsibility to ensure that safe conditions of work apply at all times. 2.3 The service’s strategy aims to ensure that health and safety is an integral part of the overall management of the service and the service continually seeks ways to ensure a safe workplace for all employees. 3. Organisation for implementing health and safety management 3.1 The Head of Policy and Partnerships is the lead officer for health and safety within the Chief Executive’s Service and is supported by the Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager who has responsibility for co-ordinating health and safety issues within the service and any areas of concern can be raised directly. This ensures that health and safety remain a high-profile issue within the service and is dealt with at a senior level. Health and safety issues can also be raised at regular section meetings and passed on to the health and safety co-ordinator to action. 3.2 The service’s health and safety co-ordinator is a member of the Corporate Health and Safety Committee. Details of any health and safety issues relevant to the service are discussed at the quarterly meetings of the committee. These are then circulated to officers in the working group by e-mail (all employees have access to e-mail) who then disseminate the information locally to managers and employees. This should then be discussed at team meetings at which health and safety is expected to be a standing agenda item.
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3.3 In addition to the functions listed above, the Health and Safety Committee enables members to raise health and safety issues that cannot be resolved at local level or to share lessons learned. The committee provides a mechanism to enable consistent practice across the Council through its members. It is recognised that local manager buy-in to this process is imperative. 3.4 The service has a working group which meets quarterly. It is made up of representatives from across the service and a member of the Health and Safety team. Key priorities this year were Display Screen Equipment self-assessments (given that home working was prevalent across the Council), ensuring general and fire risk assessments are in place and current, and the introduction of the revised incident/accident form within Business World. 3.5 These arrangements help promote the communication of health and safety information within the service, provide an opportunity for all officers to bring any health and safety issues to the attention of their line manager and/or health and safety co-ordinator while at the same time ensuring that health and safety retains its high profile within the service. In addition, meetings and regular one to ones allows employees to raise issues, discuss concerns and seek any health and safety information with their line manager/Head of Service. 4. Overview of Health & Safety during 2022/23 4.1 The service greatly utilises the communication streams including Take 5 - Staff News, employee information pages on the Council’s website as well as health and safety specific communication and alerts which are circulated as required. There is a dedicated Taking Care of our Employees’ Wellbeing section on the Council’s website specifically for employees providing a wide variety of information including Covid-19 guidance, flu vaccination, mental health first aider contact details and financial wellbeing. 5. Planning and setting standards 5.1 The service works with the Health and Safety team to identify any potential occupational health risks within the service. We have identified two key areas of focus: undertaking/reviewing risk assessments including DSE assessments employee health and wellbeing 5.2 The ongoing monitoring and evaluation by the service working group ensures improvement where required and along with the support of the Health and Safety team to guide and support service areas where location specific general and fire risk assessments are required. This includes The Russell Institute and InCube, High Street, Paisley after a recent refurbishment and the reintroduction of staff to these premises. 5.3 In addition, the events team manage a programme of public events each of which are individually risk assessed. A bespoke Event Management plan is created in
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conjunction with multi agency partners and Council services for each event, with public safety the main priority. 5.4 2022 saw the return of a fully live events programme following the Covid pandemic. New event models were introduced moving away from one day mass gatherings to programmes spread throughout wider geographical areas and longer time periods. Crowds returned to events with numbers for some above expectations. 5.5 To continue the development of the safety first approach to events, the events and health and safety teams undertook further crowd science and modelling training. A crowd management expert is currently working with the events team to develop a crowd management model for the 2023 Paisley Halloween Festival, the largest event delivered by the team. In line with the incoming Protect Duty and further developing the safety of our event sites, an audit has been commissioned of event spaces to look at the most appropriate method of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation. 5.6 The Executive Events Group chaired by the Head of Marketing, Comms and Events with membership from Events, Health and Safety, Civil Contingencies, Risk Management and Regulatory Services have oversight of all event management plans and provide final sign off on the major events management and delivery plans. 5.7 Arrangements are in place to ensure that all employees undertake the display screen equipment iLearn training course on the Council’s intranet and a display screen equipment self-assessment is carried out by all employees using the form located on Business World. DSE self-assessments should be carried out two-yearly or more frequently if there have been any significant changes to the employee workstation or if the employee starts to experience any pain/discomfort. These assessments ensure that all workstations within the service comply with best practice. New and expectant mother risk assessments are also carried out; other hazards should also be considered within risk assessments which may include stress or lone working as examples. 5.8 Fire safety is a highlighted risk within the service and this is controlled by fire evacuation drills, risk assessments and training, including mandatory Evacuation Process Renfrewshire House iLearn course - all of which raise awareness amongst employees. 6. Training 6.1 Health and Safety training is integral to the service’s approach to health and safety. Courses are included in the corporate training planner as well as a number of modules on iLearn. Training can be undertaken digitally (iLearn) or face to face either in person or online (MS Teams). Training is a standing action included in the Health and Safety Action Plan (Appendix 2). 6.2 The Evacuation Process Renfrewshire House mandatory iLearn course was launched in February 2023 outlining the responsibilities to ensure that everyone can be evacuated from Renfrewshire House quickly and safely. 6.3 Employees who attend health and safety training are reminded that course evaluations should be undertaken by the delegate to provide feedback.
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7. Active monitoring 7.1 The Chief Executive’s service health and safety working group is made up of representatives from across the service and a member of the Health and Safety team. The working group meets quarterly, monitoring actions through the reporting year. Any information communicated via the corporate health and safety committee is also raised and discussed with the group including for example risk assessment reviews, iLearn or face to face health and safety training. 7.2 The Health and Safety team are reviewing the corporate approach to managing workplace exposure to blood borne viruses which had been previously paused during the covid pandemic. There is a council wide working group in place which includes linking with Occupational Health. Within our service this primarily affects the Building Standards team and the Health and Safety team has met with the manager. 8. Re-active monitoring 8.1 Re-active monitoring includes analysing accidents and incidents reported to identify and implement accident prevention programmes. Historically the number of accidents and incidents reported within the Chief Executives service has been low. However, the working group continued to encourage a culture of accident/incident reporting within the service. Table 1 – No of service reported accidents/incidents per reporting year Reporting Year Who was involved? Accident/Incident Description Severity Outcome 2020/21 - - - - 2021/22 - - - - 2022/23 1 x Employee Another kind of accident (removal of PPE footwear) Minor Employee supported after incident 1 x Employee Violence & Aggression (V&A) Incident Management actions to review procedures for visiting clients and review risk assessment. V&A training requested. 8.2 During the last reporting year there were a total of two accidents / incidents reported with both involving employees. One was an injury sustained when removing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) footwear and the other was a violent and aggressive incident involving a front facing member of staff. 9. Health and safety management actions 2022/23 9.1 Employees will continue to undertake or review their DSE self-assessment directly on Business World which will be reviewed by managers and, where required advice and guidance can be requested from the Health and Safety team ensuring appropriate procedures and practices are implemented.
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9.2 At the start of January 2023, the new Incident/Accident form was launched within Business World with revised corporate guidance including Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) reporting arrangements published on the intranet for reference. 9.3 The service has made good progress towards achieving health and safety objectives and a number of these will be continued into next year. This includes: awareness and compliance with the Council’s Corporate Policy on Health, Safety and Wellbeing; Monitor and review all work place risk assessments to ensure they remain suitable and sufficient and maintain the service’s risk assessment register. This will include safe working procedures for employees; Encourage and monitor health and safety training on iLearn and in-person training as required and determined by employee activities and roles. This would include all mandatory health & safety training; and Ensure all service areas are represented at the Chief Executive’s health and safety working group, including after any service reviews/restructures. 9.4 Appendix 2 sets out the Health and Safety Action Plan for 2023/24 and will be further developed to ensure that any current actions relating to Community Learning & Development are transferred and incorporated into the service current plan with the aim to develop any new actions as required. 10. Conclusion 10.1 Health and safety remains a key priority within the Chief Executive’s Service. Health and safety is viewed as the responsibility of all employees and information, training, advice and guidance is provided on this basis. The involvement and support of all employees (including their representatives) is sought in ensuring the working environment is safe and secure for all employees and visitors.
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Chief Executive's Service Health and Safety Action Plan 2023-2024 Appendix 2 Action Code Action Title Due Date CEH&S23.01 Recognise the Council’s Health & Wellbeing Strategy ensuring all employees are aware of initiatives and participate where relevant / required, including any related performance management measures 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.02 Awareness and compliance with the revised Council’s Corporate Policy on Health, Safety and Wellbeing (Dec 2021). 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.03 Monitor and review all work place risk assessments to ensure they remain suitable and sufficient and maintain the service’s risk assessment register. This will include safe working procedures for employees. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.04 Implement and monitor a manager led health and safety inspection programme across all service locations. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.05 Ensure managers include health and safety as part of the induction process for new employees. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.06 Encourage and monitor health and safety training on iLearn and in-person training as required and determined by employee activities and roles. This would include all mandatory health & safety training. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.07 Continue to record and monitor any workplace accidents involving employees in the Chief Executive’s service. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.08 Ensure that all events planned have an individual event manual which includes health and safety. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.09 Ensure all service areas are represented at the Chief Executive’s health and safety working group, including after any service reviews/restructures. 31-Mar-2024 CEH&S23.10 Ensure that any active actions relating to Community Learning & Development are transferred into this plan 31-Mar-2024