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A Principal Environmental Health Officer at Babergh District Council is due to meet The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Tony Blair MP, at 10 Downing Street on Monday 11th December to discuss ways of lessening the administrative burdens on businesses –without reducing the safety of staff, customers and the general public.
Julian Halls is one of just three health and safety professionals who have been invited to the high-level seminar, due to be chaired by Pat McFadden MP, the Cabinet Office Minister, at which other Ministers, senior businesspeople and the national media will also be present.
Julian’s invitation came as a result of suggestions he made in reducing the red tape faced by companies as part of the Government’s efforts to simplify regulations and allow bodies such as district councils to focus on priority areas. Julian’s suggestion was to remove the requirements for firms to buy and display the health and safety poster for employees. “It sounds quite a minor suggestion, but as each one costs £7.50 and given that there are hundreds of thousands of companies in the UK, the total costs to business really mount up. In any case, most are out-of-date or not even properly filled in”.
“Babergh has always taken a pragmatic approach in working with and advising local businesses on their health and safety responsibilities. Nonetheless, there are areas where we require them to comply with Government regulations that are more about ticking boxes than actually protecting staff and the public” explained Julian. “I’m pleased that the Government is encouraging people to push forward ideas that will lead to a better regulatory environment for all”
As to his reaction to being invited to address such a high profiled meeting, Julian replied “It was a bit of a shock at first, but I’m delighted to be able to discuss my own professional experiences of where regulation is working and where it is frankly an unnecessary burden on Babergh’s businesses”.
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