Scottish Hazards Centre has issued a statement on the current situation facing some of Edinburgh’s schools:
It should be a given that when we send our kids to school, they’re safe in their surroundings and that those who are teaching them and working with them are safe at their work. The closure of so many schools on safety grounds has quite rightly been described as a “national scandal”. There are many questions that need to be answered as soon as possible, including:
Why were issues with the build only brought to light by a wall collapse (which thankfully took place through the night and not while school was in session)?
and What level of inspections took place in our schools after the death of young Keane Wallis-Bennett at Liberton High School?
We must continue to make clear that arrangements – whether PPP or similar – which have the client and the contractor effectively as one entity, with no external scrutiny or supervision of build safety but a profit incentive to cost-cut, which can only lead to corners being cut and hazards being increased, are unacceptable. And we must repeat our calls for more proactive preventative inspections to take place in the vast swathes of workplaces (and public places!) that have been classified as “low risk” and taken out of the inspection regime.
Scottish Hazards Centre has grown out of the successful Scottish Hazards Campaign (http://www.scottishhazards.
We are keen to target those individuals who, perhaps, have less access to health and safety support than others. We have identified home care staff (who usually work in people’s homes) as being particularly at risk. Both Westminster and Holyrood are keen to reduce the number of hospital admissions and people moving to care homes so Councils are under pressure to provide support at home. However, due to the cutbacks there is less specialist support (eg physio at home, district nurses) and increasingly, the burden is being borne by home care workers who often have little training in the care they need to give (continence care, dementia support, moving and handling equipment) and are often paid the minimum wage or less.
If you have concerns about safety at your child’s school or at any other place of work, and you would like free, confidential, advice and support, call our Scottish Hazards Centre today on 0800 0015 on 0800 0015 FREE022.
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One might fairly ask what world council officials were living on when they signed a contract that made the client and contractor effectively one entity with no council oversight and inspection of building work? It’s daft to imagine that firms which exist to make as much profit as possible will not cut corners if they know that they can get away with it. Result our children endangered and their education disrupted.