Posted By Sean Fraser The article below comes from the Croner HSE Newsletter (free and very informative!). I've added the link to the article in question below for cut'n'paste into your browser. We've hashed this subject to death, so I'm not expecting much more debate but I thought it was a good illustration of how the safety profession is starting to take umbridge at the ill-informed and ignorant opinions spouted by some sections of our media. "A recent claim in an article in the Daily Telegraph that work experience is now “all about health and safety” has been countered by the Director General of the British Safety Council in a letter to the newspaper. The article by Mary Wakefield (26 July 2004) [(see weblink below)] said, “Health and safety isn't a precautionary measure, something to get out of the way before pupils learn a bit about journalism, television or sausage making — in the eyes of this Government it's the whole point”. David Ballard, the Director General of the British Safety Council responded to the article saying, “Mary Wakefield … makes some interesting and amusing points about health and safety for young people on work experience assignments. But she left out a vital fact — nine young people have been killed on work placements in the past 20 months. Interesting, not so amusing and quite unacceptable.” " http://www.telegraph.co....on/2004/07/26/do2603.xml

Posted By Steve Holliday As it seems we are all over officious and nit-picking I wonder if the enforcement officer covering the Spectator’s offices has noted that they do not appear to have a method of reporting accidents that is compliant with DPA! Goodness knows if they are aware of RIDDOR. 'To my great surprise, I found The Spectator accident book under a volume of Sir Woodrow Wyatt's poems. It is a nice-looking blue hardback notebook with a red spine, containing a single entry on the first page: "8/2/1985. Henrietta Sykes: splinter in thumb under nail''.’ If we didn’t use our own form I would be tempted to send an up to date yellow accident book to them with a note to all their competitors explaining their lapse. At least then the spectator would become compliant and we may get more laughs from another woefully ridiculous condemnation of our profession in some rag or another.