www.wiltshire.gov.uk
The role of Wiltshire County Council in health and safety
Unlike some other local authorities Wiltshire County Council does not currently play a role in the regulation and enforcement of health and safety legislation. In Wiltshire this role is undertaken by the five Councils (West Wiltshire DC, Kennet DC, Salisbury DC and North Wiltshire DC, and Swindon Borough Council) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The District Councils and Swindon Borough Council are the agencies responsible for monitoring standards in the following areas:
- Most offices;
- Some wholesale and retail warehouses;
- Hotels and other residential catering accommodation, including hostels, caravan and camping sites;
- Catering including restaurants, pubs and cafes;
- Leisure and entertainment facilities, including night clubs, social clubs, gyms, riding schools and museums;
- Places of worship and undertakers;
- Animal care, including zoos, livery stables and kennels;
- Beauty and non-medical therapeutic services, such as tattooing and body piercing.
The HSE is the agency responsible for monitoring standards in factories, schools, hospitals and local government workplaces.
This does not mean to say that Wiltshire County Council has no role to play in protecting the health and safety of the people of Wiltshire. The Council is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all of its 11,000 employees while at work, for the pupils who attend Community (CY) and Voluntary Controlled (VC) schools, for service users and members of the public using Council premises and facilities.
The Council's Safety Plan
To help fulfil its duties to protect the health and safety of its employees, contactors and visitors to its premises, the Council has a health and safety plan.
1. Our Goal
Wiltshire County Council will positively safeguard the health, safety and welfare of its employees and customers and contribute to the enhanced performance of its workplace partners.
Its employees will benefit from a standard of well-being and physical health that minimises personal losses and maximises business effectiveness.
The young people of Wiltshire will be better prepared for their working lives through involvement in the development of safer and healthier learning environments and activities.
Self-regulation will be the means by which compliance is achieved.
2. Supporting Principles
a) Good health and safety is good business. The absence of management direction encourages the belief that health and safety is somebody else’s concern.
b) Healthy, secure employees with a sense of well-being, perform better and are less likely to be absent from work or to seek other employment.
c) Health and safety management is led by the concept of prioritised risk.
d) Health and safety performance is monitored and measured and takes its prioritised place in strategic planning, service provision and policy formulation.
e) Chief Officers have collective responsibility for health and safety.
f) Health and safety ideals are compatible with the Council’s other aspirational strategies relating to environmentally friendly and anti-discriminatory issues.
3. Objectives
a) To establish a consistent internal management system and advisory service which operates so that employees and the Council’s customers remain healthy and safe as far as is reasonably practicable.
b) To have employees who enjoy a high level of well-being and fitness.
c) To have effective partnerships between departments within the Council and between the Council and those external employers and agencies that it deals with.
d) To promote the use of health and safety within the curriculum and enable children to be involved in the health and safety management of their schools.
e) To provide the means for employees and their representatives to be involved in the development of the Council’s health and safety plan.
f) To promote self-regulation as the means of securing compliance with the Council’s statutory duties.
g) To be able to demonstrate that the number of injuries sustained through work activities, the number of liability claims made against the Council and the number and length of staff absences through work-related ill-health, are all reduced.
The Corporate Occupational Health, Safety and Employee Well-being Services
The Health and Safety Service consists of advisers who perform a number of functions. They are based at County Hall and provide a help-line service for any of the councils’ departments or employees who might need assistance with a health and safety issue. The advisers also provide training to Council employees in all relevant aspects of health and safety and audit the standards in place in schools, WCC offices, libraries and care homes. The service is committed to carrying out annual audits in Community and Voluntary Controlled schools, special schools, care settings and libraries. Primary schools are audited on a rolling schedule every four years. All CY and VC schools must also submit an annual audit report which contains information on the school’s health and safety management systems.
All Council employees have access to support of the Occupational Health Advisers and the employee well-being helpline service.
The role of the OH Service is to promote and maintain the physical, mental and social well-being of all employees by offering advice on the fitness of individuals to take on a post through medical screening, assess risks relating to the health of individuals and groups engaged in particular tasks, monitor employees’ health on an on-going basis, review the fitness of employees following illness, oversee rehabilitation into the workplace, and organise health promotion activities.
Contact Details
By Post
Occupational Health and Safety Services
Wiltshire County Council
Human Resources
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN
By Email
healthandsafety@wiltshire.gov.uk
By Telephone
01225 713185
By Fax
01225 713877
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 8.30 - 5.20 pm
