Agenda item

To receive a report which provides Members with an update reviewing a recent Health and Safety Executive prosecution.

Mr Watts (General Counsel) and Mr Walker (Head of Health and Safety) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Watts introduced the report which provided the details of a recently concluded Health and Safety Executive prosecution.

Mr Watts and Mr Walker then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Watts said that a range of officers were undertaking work in relation to the Council’s response to the Grenfell tragedy and the consequential issues for management of estates for organisations such as Kent County Council. It was confirmed that the learning from the case was being fed into the ongoing Grenfell work. He said that Kent County Council were reviewing the strategies that were currently in place in relation to how information was managed and how best to address health and safety related concerns.

b)    Mr Watts said that officers within Kent County Council’s Education department were working closely with Health and Safety officers and in due course, with schools, in relation to the learning from this case. He said that officers would be reflecting on how the school’s annual monitoring returns process could be improved to obtain an updated return on a variety of issues within schools.

c)    Mr Watts referred to the adoption of leases and said that work would be undertaken by officers to consider further Kent County Council’s responsibilities and circumstances.

d)    Mr Walker referred to the court hearing in relation to the Asbestos exposure case and said that the Judge’s decision stated that the management system in Kent for Asbestos management was strong and robust. Mr Walker said that the linkage between Kent County Council as the legal duty holder and the school management as the designated responsible persons, could be improved. Mr Walker advised Members of the Committee of the positive steps that would be undertaken to mitigate future risks and cause for concern in relation to Asbestos. This included seeking legal advice across the property portfolio, and working in collaboration with colleagues in infrastructure and in the education sector.

e)    Mr Walker said that within the last 18 months, all of Kent’s community schools had been audited in relation to health and safety, and any issues or failings noted within the audits would be corrected. He said that up-to-date training and induction programmes were in place to ensure that responsibilities were clear.

f)     Mr Walker said that Kent County Council were working closely with the Education and Skill Funding Agency to address safeguarding in non-community schools. He said that the Health and Safety Executive had launched a new programme in relation to managing health and safety in the school sector, and therefore, Kent County Council expected the Health and Safety Executive to visit Kent’s schools.

g)    Mr Watts said that where Kent County Council were the landlord for academies in Kent,provisions were limited in relation to the lease. Mr Walker added to Mr Watts’ comments and said that governor training was offered to academies to address potential health and safety gaps and concerns.

h)    Mr Watts said that the legal advice that Kent County Council had sought covered many areas in relation to Health and Safety. He suggested organising an informal, confidential briefing for Members of the Committee on the legal advice that Kent County Council had sought.

i)     Mr Walker confirmed that the Asbestos breach had been discovered by a Swale Environmental Health officer and reported to the Health and Safety Executive. Within 24 hours of Kent County Council being informed of the Asbestos breach, corrective measures had been taken and the Asbestos rope had been removed.

j)     Mr Watts reassured Members of the Committee that a briefing note would be circulated outside of the meeting which would contain information relating to Kent County Council’sdefence costs.

k)    Mr Walker said that the prosecutionwas the first Health and Safety prosecution that Kent County Council had had in relation to Asbestos.

l)     Mr Watts confirmed that an in-depth report could be brought to a future meeting of the Committee which would provide detail on the responsibilities of the Council in relation to leases and the Council’s policy in relation to the ongoing management of Asbestos.

2.          Mr Hotson (Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services) thanked Members for their comments and undertook to ensure that a further report on the Council’s approach to Asbestos management would be brought back to a future meeting of the Committee.

3.          RESOLVED that the report be noted.