Posted By Ed Carter Relating to Zoe's thread on public perception of HS. I agree with many of the contributions offered by colleagues. I feel however that the problem can be directly related to our Countries so called leadership. One of our founding principles is that for health and safety to work there needs to be a clear and demonstrable commitment from the top! Sometime ago I commented in this forum about the watering down of the supposedly forthcoming 'Corporate killing'legislation. Now I read that the two other pieces of legislation; Health & Safety (Offences) regulations and the HS (Responsibilities of Directors) Regs have both "run out of parlimentry time" for this session, despite both getting to their 2nd reading and the House of Lords. Although it is, apparently, hoped that someone will take up the sword in the next session of Parliment there is no guarantee that this will happen. If our Government cannot,by their example, demonstrate their committment to occupational health and safety, is it any wonder that the media and the public appear not to view it particularly seriously either, unless they become the victim of an accident or poor safety practice of course. My personal feeling is that unless all interested parties,HSE, IOSH, BSC & ROSPA and individuals, make there dissappointment and frustrations known, we will continue as we are, a couple of hundred fatalities,many thousands of occupational injuries, more work related absences at greater cost each year, with little being done to address the issue. We seem to be really good at talking the talk, but we certainly do not appear to have mastered walking the walk yet do we!! Ed

Posted By Chris Turner I think this issue is also recognised in the way that little respect or continuity has been shown in the role of ministerial responsibility for health and safety. Not a "hot" seat in the cabinet, it was also recently without a departmental home. It is ok for the HSC/HSE to kep banging the drum, but it needs a bigger drum and a bigger drum stick. The government attitude to H & S is apathetic at best.