According to the "Tips & Advice Health and Safety" bulletin, Lord Young is back; "As we reported in 2010, Lord Young was appointed by the government to review health and safety. But just as his recommendations were starting to take effect, he got the sack for making an unpopular public statement. Now, nearly a year after he left his position, he's returned to take up his role as an adviser to the government. As before, one of the subjects he's going to focus on is health and safety. Although we don't expect him to come up with anything new, he's likely to push forward the plans that he started in 2010." I despair!

He will probably be leading the charge to repatriate powers (especially health and safety) from Europe that his former boss signed away or are we not allowed to mention/confuse the argument with the facts.

Really? Is this the way politics works? So someone is forced to resign after saying or doing something that is seen as damaging to the image of the party, they just stay low - out of the media spotlight for a few months and sneak back in as an adviser, until the general public have forgotten their wrong-doing?

Can you provide a source reference or link to this statement please?

I'd no idea what the "Tips & Advice Health and Safety bulletin" was. A subscription service I see.

Ron, He is definetly back in - Business czar or summat Have a wider google its there if you look

You already know what the gov are going to do. Less HSE inspectors, less visits by those remaining. Hey....if you get injured at work and, for instance, get a spinal injury (two prolapsed discs) you do not even get sick pay now.... So...you won't hear many workers moaning about the hardships that H&S pros' are going to be going through.....pay down by 3% per annum, company pension disappeared, holidays cut, no sick pay (even salaried), not much chance of compensation for injury (once the no-win-no-fee is dumped).....union reps in gov told to sling their hooks... Yep. H&S is just going to have to swallow the same medicine, from the same bunch of chancers and expense fiddlers, that workers have had for a few years now.............don't forget, this "be kind to what industry we have" started under Neu-Labour. Not much chance of the person who likes to be called prime minister doing much.....he will however walk over red hot glass to appease the City.... Face it, if you actually have to DO some work then you are just a social loser to .gov.uk Oh, and I note that the .gov.uk is proposing closing ALL local DVLA offices....

Ron I would be surprised if he never went away in the first place - just sat under the radar pulling strings!! The extent of the Government's 'light-touch risk-based system' for enforcement can be gleamed from 'Transforming Regulatory Enforcement - Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Regulatory Enforcement. Can be found at: www.bis.gov.uk/assets/bi...ment-government-response 'We will expect to see a significant reduction in state-led enforcement activity each and every year throughout this Parliament.' Not so much writing on the wall but blasted out in 100 foot letters - Business Rules OK!! Makes interesting reading though. David Young should love it. No doubt this will be as equally successful as the 'light touch' regulation of the banking sector culminating in the 2008 collapse. Cheers. Nigel

Given the current prevalence of Thatcherite doctrine (c.f. recent Lisbon Treaty issues) I suppose it's hardly surprising that LY will continue to enjoy a "special relationship" with the current PM when his special input ('he brings me solutions') was so much admired by the Iron Lady herself during her time in office. There must be an awful lot of revolving doors at the entrances to the corridors of power.........

He is back to push through an agenda of 'Light Touch Self Regulation'. It's all part of Camerons belief in the 'Big Society' and we can all take more responsibility for ourselves. But don't worry, it'll all end in tears when accident and incident rates rocket.

Rich In 2009 David Cameron publicly stated that the health and safety culture was the cause of a lot of the 'anger and frustration' people feel about politics in the UK today. [No evidence] In August this year he publicly stated that health and safety was an underlying cause of the riots seen in London and other cities. [Again no evidence] At the Tory party conference he then went on to publicly state that the 'shadow of health and safety' was the main obstacle to his 'Big Society' plan. [Again no evidence] He made David Young his health and safety Champion. He had to resign shortly after publishing his review. In the meantime Employment Minister Chris Grayling admitted in July this year that the Government's health and safety programme is based mainly on misrepresentation and misinterpretation of press stories - mainly sourced from the Daily Mail et al. In the report Common Sense Common Safety from the ennobled David Young, all the stakeholders views were summarised and contained the following: 'There was an overriding opinion that the health and safety agenda had been hijacked by the tabloid press, whose reports often contributed to misinterpretation and misunderstandings by regularly exaggerating and ridiculing instances which in reality have little or nothing at all to do with health and safety.' Lord Young highlighted this and recommended precisely nothing to address it. The Leveson enquiry is revealing the rather dubious nature of the relations between the press and all political parties. The premise of the health and safety reviews and current programme is highly political, only considers business costs - and as such - is completely one sided. Cheers. Nigel

Here is a link to the DWP website. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/health-and-safety/ May be reading too much into this but when you land on the page - its nearly all 'Lord' Young and then followed by Prof Lofstedt as a bit of a footnote. Rich777, my original post did end with 'I despair', so I take full responsibility for encouraging impassioned pessimism. Even putting politics aside, if you were a school teacher, what grade would you have awarded Lord Young's report as far as quality of reports go? - in terms of research, bias and inconsistency? I think it would be generous to give it Young a D-! Hardly cause for cautious optimism; putting someone like that in charge or a review. While I do not agree with everything in the Lofstedt report, at least it appeared to be a professionally written document. I also think of putting Lord Young in charge of a H&S review was a case of putting a fox in charge of the chickens but that's my politics coming though!

The very brief and pointed political replies here are probably down to the fact that LY Report and Government mismanagement issues have already been covered on this Forum in great detail.

We are all entitled to add our views on this forum. Some are not happy with the Government's approach to Health and Safety and in particular the PM who comes out with statements which border on the kind printed in the Daily Mail. I for one will not be giving anyone a break from my political views or otherwise. Sorry if this gives you cause for concern.