Local health and safety committees

Requirement

The requirement to set up local health and safety committees comes from the Framework for Managing Health and Safety, section 4. Governance arrangements for health, safety and wellbeing.

Multi-occupancy Building User Group

If the building has a Multi-occupancy Building User Group (MOBUG), then safety could be a standing item on their agenda as well.

Further guidance for MOBUGs is available.

Membership

Convenor

The convenor of the school/department safety committee should be an appropriate member of staff with sufficient seniority to ensure items brought to the committee are followed up on and dealt with.

Secretary

A secretary should also be appointed to undertake the minute taking as well as manage the schedule of meetings.

Members

Suitable members, including any local union safety reps, should be appointed by each section of the school/management unit to sit on the committee.

Agenda items

Typical agenda items will include:

• Annual plan/objectives
• Accidents and incidents review
• Training matrix and completion
• Review of Risk Profile Tool results
• Regular safety reports from high risk areas, such as laboratory facilities
• Results from local audits and inspections
• Results from corporate audits

Frequency of meetings

Meetings should be held as often as deemed necessary by the Convenor but at least once a year. If the need arises, for example a serious incident, then a meeting should be called as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Liaison with the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee

The University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee would seek to encourage local committees to bring forward items of particular significance and/or general interest or value from their own committees, and help to disseminate locally messages/information coming from the University committee.

Contact the University committee Secretary, Suzanne Thompson, Director of Health and Safety, Suzanne.Thompson@ed.ac.uk.

Individuals wishing to highlight an area of concern

In addition, a flow chart has been produced which highlights possible routes for an individual employee to take forward a health and safety query/issue. This flow chart has been approved by the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee and is available below. 

Flow chart with routes of possible contact