Local authority circulars (LACs)
The following newly published Local Authority Circulars (LACs) are available from the LAU pages of the HSE website.
The following Local Authority Circulars (LACs) have been removed from the LAU pages of the HSE website for revision.
- LAC 27/13 – Vehicle finishing units, risks from gross leakage of fuel
Prevention of dust explosions in the food industry
HSE has published new guidance on the prevention of dust explosions in the food industry. The guidance includes an appendix giving advice on the selection of suitable vacuum cleaners for use, for example, in bakeries.
Within the Local Authority (LA) enforced sector, bakers are the industry group with the highest reported incidence of occupational asthma and the use of industrial vacuum cleaners to clean up flour dust is an important control measure. The guidance is likely to be of particular assistance to smaller employers who cannot justify the expense of buying ATEX rated cleaning equipment':
Leading Health and Safety: Leadership actions for directors and board members
HSC and the Institute of Directors (IoD) launched new guidance ‘leading health and safety: leadership actions for directors and board members’ on 29 October 2007.
The guidance is aimed at all directors, governors, trustees, officers and equivalents in the private, public and third sectors. Set out as an action plan, it is designed to enable boards collectively, and board members individually, to provide a lead on planning, delivery, monitoring and review to ensure their organisation’s effective health and safety performance.
The guidance also highlights:
- the benefits of leadership, with case studies;
- the legal responsibilities of employers;
- the legal liability of individual board members for health and safety failures;
- the cost of leadership failure, with examples of director prosecutions.
The guidance will be a useful tool for Local Authority Enforcement Officers, helping to facilitate access to and discussion with directors, for example, when:
- considering the contribution boards and board members make to the health and safety performance of their organisations;
- examining the role of the board and board members during investigation of accidents, incidents of ill-health etc.
The guidance will be available as a free publication. (HSE publication reference INDG417, replacing INDG343)
Workplace transport campaign: Vehicles at work: The route map
Vehicles at work continue to be a major cause of fatal and major injuries. An annual average of 61 fatalities and 2100 major injuries involve vehicles*. Work related deaths on the Public Highway are estimated to be around 1000 each year.
The 'Route Map' has been launched to counter this. It provides information on agreed good practice and current legislation for work related transport safety.
The aim is to make the guidance practical and easy to use by:
- gearing it towards identifying problems and providing the duty holder with guidance on how to put them right
- making it flexible and adaptable to business needs; and
- ensuring it’s applicable to businesses across all sectors.
* Data from 1998/99 onwards.
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