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Legal News Update
30 August 2011
HSE publishes ludicrous bans of 2011
As critics line up to argue that Britain has become strangled by health and safety laws, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its top ten 'bizarre' health and safety bans of the past year.
“Health and safety legislation exists to protect people from real risks at, or connected with, work. But it can be hard to see this from some of the stories that are reported,” said a HSE spokesperson, which says the bans and restrictions have all been erroneously blamed on health and safety.
Among the top ten bans are:
- Wimbledon officials citing health and safety as a reason to close Murray Mount when it was wet.
- Stopping dodgem cars from bumping into each other at Butlins in Skegness.
- Banning Royal wedding street parties.
- Kite flying on a popular tourist beach in east Yorkshire.
- Stopping pupils from using playground monkey bars unsupervised in Oxfordshire.
Some of these bans have been met with exaggerated headlines, the HSE has argued, with papers like the Daily Mail reporting in the case of the Murray Mount closure: 'Elf 'n' safety shuts Murray Mount: Fans might slip on the grass'.
“We have seen an epidemic of excuses wrongly citing health and safety as a reason to prevent people from doing pretty harmless things with only very minor risks attached. This has to stop. The law does not require this to happen – people must be encouraged to use their common sense," said Employment Minister, Chris Grayling.
“Health and safety laws exist to provide important safeguards against people being seriously injured or made unwell at work and should not hamper everyday activities. These regulations are intended to save lives, not stop them."
That sentiment was echoed by Alex Botha, the Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, who added that the “reality is that bans are often based on ignorance or cost and the law is misrepresented and used as an excuse to avoid criticism.”
“Stories about bizarre bans only muddy the very serious message we are trying to get across," he added. "Our work with members and the wider business community demonstrates that good health and safety really is good business and it’s this positive message the British Safety Council will press to help bust these myths once and for all.”