Health and Safety Rules - Declaration of war against them ( Archived) (13)

All I can say is 'ABOUT EFFING TIME'



DAVID Cameron will today declare war on the "crazy" health and safety rules which have fuelled Britain's compensation culture.
The PM will unveil a major review of legislation. The decision comes amid growing fury over potty rules that ban conkers in the playground or stop cops trying to save people who are drowning. Thousands of school trips and events are also being cancelled due to excessive red tape and spiralling insurance costs.

Mr Cameron said: "The rise of the compensation culture over the last ten years is a real concern, as is the way health and safety rules are sometimes applied.

"We need a sensible new approach that makes clear these laws are intended to protect people, not overwhelm businesses with red tape."

The review will be headed by ex-Tory Cabinet minister Lord Young of Graffham.

He said: "Over the last five years the NHS has paid £8billion in compensation but only a third has gone to patients - the rest goes to lawyers and referral agencies."

He was particularly concerned that "ambulance-chasing" legal firms were fuelling the problem.

Lord Young stressed there had been three cases in two years where people had drowned after police said rules meant they could not attempt to rescue them.

The current rules have also seen bizarre payouts, including £15,000 to a woman trespasser who hurt herself falling into a moat at Carlisle Castle.

A Devon primary school scrapped a pancake race after insurance costs quadrupled.

Lord Young, who wants to see changes within a year, said: "There are so many stupid cases of pancake races being banned and so on.

"I'm just trying to put some common-sense back into health and safety."

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yes, the money should go to PROPER compensation...not like the ones mentioned above....or those burglars that claim compo for getting shot robbing a farmer.

Been going on way too long that has BB.

It's about bloody time.

Yes....and this is why I believe in tightening up of the immigration laws and make them pass an English test.

Sad state of affairs ennit it kiddo?

Yes, the efficacy of health and safety and the compensation culture should be questioned.

Yes, it's wrong that at a time in your life when you are most vulnerable and least able to, you are put in a position where you have to fight for the support that is yours by right.

Call me cynical, but...

I question the agenda that the government has in tackling the Health and Safety issue. Its an unpopular phenomenon, so will gain popular support, but how much revenue will it ultimately produce that can be spent more appropriately? What will be the net effect for their efforts?

I also question linking this with the issue of immigration. Living on benefits in squalid conditions is no easy life, so what environment are immigrants escaping that makes this the preferable option? Why do we have a blame culture that relies on a "common enemy"? If you don't speak English and you can't vote, you have no voice, therefore, its easy to target this group of people. Its not so easy to target the powerful and wealthy, (expenses? tax fraud?).

How much are we being lead by the nose? For as long as people are focussing on issues such as immigration, are we missing the real issues at stake?

I speak as a second generation immigrant (who's mother never got to vote) and the parent of a mixed race child.

(Who's feeling a little huffy, tee hee hee).

Jac xxx