The Health and Safety Committee met to consider a report on the Corporate Health and Safety Board, and to confirm the minutes of their previous meeting. The report was provided by Rich Clarke, Lewisham Council's Head of Assurance, and covered issues raised in previous meetings, as well as accident and incident statistics. The previous minutes being considered for approval were for a meeting held on 23 May 2024.

Corporate Health and Safety Board Update

The report included an update on a number of matters that had previously been discussed by the Health and Safety committee.

Defibrillators

The committee had previously requested a list of all of the defibrillators on Council premises. The report listed 18 defibrillators located in a variety of council buildings, including Brockley Rise, the Civic Suite, Granville Park, and Laurence House. It explained that these were all potentially accessible to the public, as they were registered with the London Ambulance Service. The report noted that this did not include any defibrillators located in schools, as these are maintained by the schools themselves. It said that a comprehensive list, including schools, would be compiled later in the year.

Slips and Trips

The report provided an update on the number of incidents of slips and trips on Council pavements that had been reported to the council. It noted that the information was incomplete, because they were not classed as “at work” incidents, and were therefore not necessarily reported. The report explained that:

these are not reportable “at work” incidents via our system unless the person falling is an employee in the course of their duties.

It went on to explain that the council would typically only become aware of such incidents if the person involved made a liability claim against the council. However, it did note that there had been 74 such claims in the previous 3 years, of which only 3 had been successful.

Health and Safety Resources

The report noted that plans to integrate staff from Lewisham Homes into the corporate health and safety structure had been delayed by the recent departure of the council's health and safety manager. However, it confirmed that the recruitment process for a new manager was underway.

Premises Inspections

The Corporate Health and Safety Board received a report that showed the number of outstanding health and safety and maintenance issues that had been identified during quarterly inspections of buildings accessible to the public. The report noted that none of the issues identified posed an immediate threat to staff or the public.

Incidents

The Board also received a report on the number of workplace safety incidents, including near misses, that had been reported in the first 6 months of the 2024/25 financial year. The report noted a significant year-on-year drop in reported incidents, and suggested that this was likely due to a number of factors, including the temporary closure of Lewisham Library. It also noted a rise in incidents compared to the final 6 months of 2023/24, suggesting that this was due to a return to normal after a period of underreporting following the introduction of a new reporting system in January 2024. The report included breakdowns of the incidents by both summary and detailed cause. It noted that:

A significant advantage of the new system is that it allows for live monitoring and reporting, plus much improved ability to tailor and query reports.

The report also included information on the number of RIDDOR¹ incidents. These were broken down by type and included incidents of members of the public and pupils being admitted to hospital, and employees and pupils being absent from work/school for more than 7 days.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The committee were asked to approve the minutes of their previous meeting, which was held on 23 May 2024. At the previous meeting the committee had:

• Approved the Council's defibrillator policy.
• Discussed a British Heart Foundation campaign to encourage more people to learn CPR.
• Received an update on emergency evacuations at the Catford Complex, and discussed plans to formalise evacuation procedures in a written policy document to be rolled out to other sites.
• Received an update on health and safety checks being carried out at council sites.
• Discussed the reporting of damp and mould in council housing.
• Received a report on RIDDOR incidents.
• Agreed to bring forward the start time of future meetings to 6pm.