Posted By graeme12345
John Spanswick was appointed to the Health and Safety Commission (now the HSE Board) on 1 May 2006 following an open recruitment exercise overseen by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). His application to the Commission was sponsored by The Major Contractors Group.

And has now been reappointed

All appointments to the HSE Board are made by the DWP Secretary of State on merit and in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointment Code of Practice.

Formal health and safety qualifications are not necessary for the role of Board member. Mr Spanswick was recruited on the strength of over 40 years experience in the construction industry culminating in appointments as Chief Executive and Group Chairman of Bovis Lend Lease.

I find it incredible that the HSE can employ someone in one of their most senior positions with absolutely no qualifications in H & S whatsoever when companies the HSE have control over are being told that only CMIOSH / FMIOSH are the ones to have if you need a H & S person

So when you go for that H & S job at Bovis Lend lease or one of their owned companies just state that you are following the chief execs lead,Oh I don't need that I have skills in other areas.

The UK goes from bad to worse on a daily basis and the moderators do not help!

Posted By Philip McAleenan
Graham,

Your posting indicates an understanding of competency that is based principally on the possession of qualifications and is therefore limiting as a result. Qualifications do not make competence, though they may be considered as relevant when assessing a person’s competence they are not to be taken as being necessary. There are many routes to competence and the various debates in this forum have discussed that.

And as to health and safety qualifications... a competent person in any field will be aware of and capable of controlling the health and safety element without necessarily having to obtain specific H&S qualifications as well. Indeed as you develop your competence in any area you will become an H&S specialist in that area because it is integral to your competence. Indeed one would imagine that someone who has risen to the position of head of a large construction corporation would have knowledge of the H&S issues necessary for the success of that company.

Moreover, unless you have evidence to the contrary, I would grant the appointments body the courtesy of accepting that they too are competent in their work, namely assessing and appointing a competent person.

Those who are in the OSH profession must avoid the arrogance of assuming that all H&S knowledge lies within that profession and that the world of work cannot proceed safely without the qualified safety person. Our role is to advise when we are called upon, and not to neuter the competent worker because s/he does not possess the same qualifications as we do.

I you would like some further information on competence and the role of the safety professional, I shall be happy to send you some papers.

Regards, Philip

Posted By Jay Joshi
The Biographies of all the HSE Board are at:-

http://www.hse.gov.uk/ab...rd/biographies/board.htm


In my view, all come from backgrounds where they would have been directly involved in Occupational Health and Safety in or with Executive/Senior Management/Board positions previously.

Posted By graeme12345
Philip In answer to your 1st para,

I do know what the requirements are in how to achieve competency, please "indicate" how you come to this conclusion?

all i can say in reply to your 2nd para is why do we have IOSH then? and all the legislation, if these "top people" are so understanding of H & S needs of employees surely they should have been enforcing H & S in their companies long before they ever came into fruition. But they did not and do you know why, it costs money!!

3rd para; In obtaining these lofty positions they do know about H & S, but they also know what is far more important to them and the share holders "profit"
I never roll over and except everything as "cosher" my evidence is a person has been given a top position in an organisation that overseas H & S in the UK, has no formal qualifications whatsoever in that field.I find that very strange.

your 4th para is your own opinion;
and thank you for the offer of info but nothing new has changed in the last 20 years.

My point is when the HSE are screaming at everyone to be competant how come this happens?

Posted By Stuff4blokes
I doubt whether all the board members of Tesco know how to operate a till, nor those at BP know how to bring crude up from under the sea. They are however examples of very successful organisations.

The HSE board must have some H&S expertise but not all its members need be experts in H&S.

Posted By Kate Gibb
The purpose of the HSE board is to oversee the general running of HSE as an organisation - something which you don't need H&S qualifications (and hence competency) - just very good business sense and leadership qualities.

The important policy and regulatory decisions (which impact on how H&S is regulated in Great Britain) are researched through channels where competent H&S advice is always sought, from professionals within HSE, and via industry, trade unions, and professional bodies.