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Health and Safety Committee - Tuesday, 1st July, 2025 6.00 pm

July 1, 2025 View on council website
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Summary

The Health and Safety Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the minutes from a previous meeting and to receive an update on the Corporate Health & Safety Board.

Corporate Health and Safety Board Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Corporate Health & Safety Board. The update was to include information on matters of interest raised in previous meetings, and a summary of information raised at the Corporate Health & Safety Board, including the most recent accident and incident statistics.

The report included details of the council's responsibilities regarding health and safety, including:

  • Duties to employees, as defined under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974[^1]
  • Duties to the public, service users, and contractors, as defined under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
  • Duties as a commercial landlord, as defined under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
  • Duties in service provision

    [^1]: The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines the fundamental structure and authority for encouraging, regulating and enforcing health, safety and welfare within the workplace.

The update included a list of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) on council premises. There are currently 18 defibrillators located in various council buildings and maintained by council staff. All of these devices are potentially accessible by members of the public as they are registered with the London Ambulance Service. The locations of the defibrillators are:

  • Brockley Rise - Premises Reception
  • Civic Suite - Premises Reception
  • Granville Park - Premises Reception
  • Grove Park Adult Learning - Premises Reception
  • Holbeach - Premises Reception
  • Ladywell Children Early Learning - School Reception Area (device shared with Watergate school)
  • Ladywell Day Centre - Sports Hall Corridor
  • Landmann Way Recycling Centre - Office
  • Laurence House - 1 x Ground Floor Reception, 1 x 3rd Floor lift lobby
  • Moonshot - Premises reception (device shared with Double Jab Boxing Club)
  • Mulberry - Premises Reception
  • Old Town Hall - Premises Reception
  • Torridon Road Library - Main Library Area
  • Wearside Depot - 1 x Ground Floor Lobby, 1 x Ground Floor Rear Office, 1 x Security Area, 1 x Security Lobby

The list excludes schools, and any community locations who have acquired and maintain a defibrillator for themselves. The council was scheduled to work on a comprehensive listing in liaison with school health and safety colleagues later in the year.

The Corporate Health and Safety Board and the various subordinate Directorate Boards have met, most recently in May. All meetings include staff representatives, including colleagues from Trade Unions. The Board's standard agenda includes:

  • HR Report on Occupational Health & Welfare, including sickness absence.
  • Facilities Management Update, including compliance report on the corporate estate.
  • Actions from each Directorate meeting.
  • Statutory compliance report and incident reporting summary provided by the Corporate Health & Safety team.

The council continues to complete quarterly premises inspections using new health and safety software. This allows officers to complete and distribute outturn reports, including photographic evidence, before leaving the site.

The table below shows the current position of publicly accessible buildings outstanding issues on most recent inspection:

Building H&S Issues Maintenance Issues Change
2000 Community 1 3 -2
43 Bromley Road 1 3 0
45 Bromley Road 4 2 +1
Barnes Wallis Community Centre 0 5 0
Bellingham Childrens Centre 3 2 -1
Bellingham Gateway 0 3 +1
Broadway Theatre 6 13 +8
Brockley Adult Learning 5 2 -2
Brockley Cemetery 2 4 +5
Catford Library 3 3 +1
Civic Suite 1 3 -1
Dacres Wood Nature Reserve 5 1 -1
Deptford Adventure Playground 2 1 +2
Devonshire Road Nature Reserve 2 1 -1
Evelyn Children's Centre 5 2 +3
Evelyn Community Centre 1 3 -2
Granville Park Adult Learning 5 2 -8
Grove Park Adult Learning 5 2 +5
Grove Park Cemetery 5 8 +9
Hillcrest 2 2 -1
Hither Green Cemetery & Crem 8 13 +13
Home Park Adventure Playground 0 2 -3
Honor Oak Adventure Playground 5 1 +1
Honor Oak Community Centre 3 2 0
Honor Oak Surestart 6 1 -1
Honor Oak Youth Centre 3 0 0
Kirkdale Resource Centre 0 9 +8
Ladywell Cemetery 1 2 0
Ladywell Children's Centre 11 4 +8
Ladywell Day Centre 8 1 +1
Landmann Way Recycling Centre 3 4 +4
Laurence House 1 4 +3
Leemore Centre 1 2 -9
Lewisham Registrars 0 2 +1
Lochaber Hall 0 4 +3
Meloit Centre 5 2 +2
Midi Music 4 4 +4
Moonshot 4 6 0
Mulberry 9 4 +4
Old Town Hall 3 4 +3
Rockbourne Youth Centre 0 4 +2
Scotney Hall 1 1 -3
Sydenham Centre (Naborhood)+Lewisham/) 3 2 5
The Dumps Adventure Playground 0 2 -7
The New Generation Community Centre 2 5 -1
Torridon Road Library 1 8 +5
Woodpecker Youth Centre 1 6 +5

None of the issues identified posed a direct and immediate threat to staff or service users. Typical issues included the need to clear areas of obstructions, carry out and document testing of safety equipment and ensuring adequate signage and instruction.

The council was subject to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection since the last committee. There were a number of improvements required regarding records and training in relation to Asbestos in Council Premises. The council's response and Asbestos action plan is due to be submitted to the HSE on 27th July 2025.

The Board also received information on reported incidents and change from last year. The table below summarises:

Directorate Q3&4 2023/24 Q3&4 2024/25
Chief Executive's 2 1
Children & Young People (non school) 5 7
Schools 1024 616
Adult Social Care & Health 10 7
Corporate Resources 48 40
Housing 30 42
Place 48 57
Total (Corporate Only) 143 154
Total (including Schools) 1167 770

The number of incidents is slightly up year-to-year although this is driven by the significant increase in Verbal abuse or threatening behaviour (up to 52 from 24).

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

The table below shows, where recorded, the location of incidents of verbal and physical abuse, involving members of the public for the previous period.

Location of Verbal abuse or Treatening Behaviour Incidents
Housing 10
Total 36
Unknown 1
Hither Green Crematorium 1
Health Centre 1
Cematory 1
Contact Centre 2
Social Care 2
Downham Library 2
Deptford Library 2
Public 3
Laurence House 4
Catford Library 7

The more serious incidents are called 'RIDDOR' incidents1. These come with compulsory reporting to the Health & Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. The number and of such incidents in the six months to 31 March 2025 is below.

RIDDOR Incidents Council Schools
Q3/4 24/25 (Q3/4 23/24) Q3/4 24/25 (Q3/4 23/24)
Totals 7(12) 22(33)

The council documents all RIDDOR incidents and investigates as appropriate. There is, to the best of our knowledge, no external agency involvement in any of these incidents.

The committee can request additional, focused, reports on areas that will allow them to fulfil their duty to ensure the council meets its responsibilities, especially to non-domestic service users.

Previous Minutes

The committee was scheduled to consider the minutes of the Health and Safety Committee meeting held on 10 October 2024.

The Head of Assurance responded to a question from Councillor Laura Cunningham, in relation to paragraph 4.9 of the minutes, confirming that recruitment of additional staff was temporarily paused. It was confirmed that the wider restructuring process would gather pace after the recruitment of a Corporate Health and Safety Manager.

It was noted that the post of Corporate Health and Safety Manager became vacant when Marta Makowska left the Council's employment.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were asked to declare any personal interest they have in any item of the agenda.


  1. RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It is a UK law that requires employers, and other people in control of premises, to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). 

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Pauline Dall
Councillor Pauline Dall  Labour Party •  Blackheath
Profile image for Councillor Paul Bell
Councillor Paul Bell  Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care •  Labour Party •  Telegraph Hill
Profile image for Councillor Dawn Atkinson
Councillor Dawn Atkinson  Labour Party •  Deptford
Profile image for Councillor Chris Best
Councillor Chris Best  Labour and Co-operative Party •  Sydenham
Profile image for Councillor Rudi Schmidt
Councillor Rudi Schmidt  Chair of Overview and Scrutiny •  Labour Party •  Evelyn
Profile image for Councillor Laura Cunningham
Councillor Laura Cunningham  Labour Party •  Ladywell
Jasmine Kassim
Tracey Van Der Merwe

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

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