Good evening , In one of my former positions I was a Union H&S Rep and we set up a H&S Committee. There is an approved code of practice L 146 which took over from a document called the Brown Book which is very helpful in this regard. It gives guidance on the SRSC Regs 1977 and gives clear advice on committees. This can be found in Regulstion 9. If you can get a good balance of representatives from the workforce and management it really helps, and try and get at least one senior manager to be part of the committee to show the workforce that it is being recognised seriously, and a member from HR. If there are union members on the committee they are entitled to reasonable time off and free training so they understand their function. However it makes sense that all committee members receive at least a basic level of H&S training so they can give effective input. The biggest learning curve that we got from it was you must make sure it does not become a 'moaning session' and a battle between the workforce and the employer. Set out an understanding that the committee is there to benefit all, and if some questions are uncomfortable it should not become a point scoring session, it should be so problems can be identified and measures implemented to prevent ill health or injury. It can be such a positive tool and can so help form a good H&S culture, however it can also be counterproductive if it becomes a battle. Be open minded and positive and it will benefit both employee and employer. Hope this helps.