HSE Chair Judith Hackitt's response to the Daily Express article on tackling real health and safety issues

Date:

1 October 2009

Dear Editor,

Your comments on tackling real health and safety issues (Express, 1 October) are very true and I applaud your sentiments.

'Health and safety' is often quoted when unpopular and disproportionate decisions are made, but as you quite rightly point out, the real reasons for many such decisions include the fear of the compensation culture.

Health and safety is too often blamed for preventing people from engaging in perfectly normal activities. Real health and safety is about proportionate approaches to reducing genuine risk in the workplace.

While the Health and Safety Executive no longer has responsibility for railways (this is now the Office of Rail Regulation) we share your desire to encourage people to focus on real risks not trivia.

Yours sincerely,

Judith Hackitt
Chair
Health and Safety Executive