In November 2007 the Health and Safety Commission published 'Way Ahead', its performance report for 2007. As well as outlining the key statistics and many of the activities undertaken in the year, this report also indicates where the HSC is on track to meet its targets for improving health and safety - and where it is not.

Indeed, the opening paragraph states: 'Although the past year has seen us achieve some real and positive outcomes in terms of tackling the number of people made ill or injured at work, there's no escaping the fact that if we are to meet all our targets, we face some tough challenges.' These targets were laid down in the HSC's ten-year 'Revitalising health and safety' (RHS) strategy, which was launched in June 2000.

One area that the HSC has found 'hugely disappointing' is the fatal injury statistics. This is because the number of workplace deaths in 2006/07 was 11 per cent higher than in the previous year. Nevertheless, the report says the

long-term trend for fatal injuries is still downwards. On this basis, and taking into account a falling rate of major injuries, the report claims that the HSC is on track to meet its targets for fatal and major injury reduction.

However, regarding targets for ill health, the HSC admits that it is not on track to meet its targets. But the suspicion here is that, rather than this being due to a real increase in illness, it is the result of a significantly higher level of reporting of self-reported ill health in 2006/07. This follows a downward trend from 2001/02 to 2005/06.

A further knock-on effect of the increase in self-reported ill health is that the number of working days lost rose in 2006/07, particularly in relation to stress. Consequently the HSC reports that it is also not on track to meet its target for reducing the number of days lost through ill health and injury.

In terms of hard facts, 2006/07 saw 241 deaths, 141,350 employees seriously injured, 2.2million people suffering from work-related illness (with 646,000 new cases in the year), and 36million days were lost overall, of which 30million were due to work-related ill health and 6million due to workplace injuries.

Despite the mixed results, the HSC uses the report to remind readers that Great Britain has a first-class health and safety system.

The HSE has run numerous campaigns to educate workers and employers during 2006/07, as well as continuing its programme of enforcement. The aim of enforcement is to deal with situations where non-compliance has led to injury or illness, and to act as a motivator for improving risk control. Within the report there are two examples of enforcement that are useful to present here.

First, the managing director of a manufacturing company was convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned for 12 months. This followed the death of an employee who was caught in unguarded machinery. Tragically, the company had failed to heed HSE advice or take appropriate action having been served with improvement notices.

Second, a supermarket chain was fined £3500 and ordered to pay £8000 costs after an employee trapped his arm in an inadequately guarded dough brake being used at an in-store bakery. During the HSE's investigation, a Prohibition Notice was served, preventing the machine from being used until a safe system of work had been devised.

One aspect of the HSC's work in 2007 that is given prominence in the report is its launch of a set of 'sensible risk management principles,' and promotion of the idea that risk management is about saving lives, not stopping people from living. An element of this campaign has been the creation - with the help of employers, employees and local authorities - of a series of 'good enough' risk assessments for a range of industries (see www.hse.gov.uk/risk/examples.htm). Nevertheless, the HSC is aware that it must continue to point out where actions taken in the name of health and safety are 'excessive and daft.'

Another new introduction in 2007 was the HSE's latest slogan 'Don't chance it, change it,' which is aimed at helping to change attitudes to health and safety. But perhaps this gives an indication as to why the performance results for 2006/07 were so mixed: changing attitudes can be an extremely difficult and lengthy process.

To download a PDF copy of the 'Way Ahead' report, go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/performance/performance2007.pdf.

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