King’s Speech: Health & Safety Focus

The recent King’s Speech, in which the new Government announced a number of new bills, had a clear focus to improve public health and life safety factors, to help boost productivity, and grow the economy through a safe, happy and healthy workforce.

There were a number of measures in the address which will begin to tackle these challenges head-on.

Martyn’s Law will reach the statute books: continuing momentum to keep people safe and reduce the risk to the public. Life safety impacts every industry sector to some degree, and the new bill challenges those who directly or indirectly engage with the public, to empower their people through a consistent approach to be able to lockdown as well as evacuate including:

• Educating staff on locking doors and emergency procedures
• The use of simple, low-cost measures for smaller premises in the ‘standard tier’
• Implementing measures that reduces the risk from an attack, as well as the risk of physical harm for larger ‘enhanced tier’ premises

A focus on improving access to mental health services: nearly half (875,000) of all work-related illnesses are attributed to work-related stress, depression and anxiety. Labour will modernise the Mental Health Act, making it fit for the twenty first century by:

• Ensuring faster and more frequent reviews and appeals of both detention and treatment. 
• Ensuring an adequate supply of community services for those with an impairment or disability.
• Adding statutory weight to patients’ rights to choose and refuse treatment.
• Ensuring that a patient nominated person replaces the nearest relative
• Providing appropriate settings as a safe place for those experiencing severe needs
• Improving management of offenders with severe mental health problems

Introduce a progressive smoking ban, paving the way for a smoke-free UK: The Tabacco and Vape Bill aims to support healthy life expectancy and reduce the number of lives lost to the biggest killers, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Eliminating vapes and other consumer nicotine products i.e. nicotine patches from being deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children, preventing the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

Overall, this King’s Speech sets out a legislative agenda moving in the right direction for a safer, healthier, and happier society and AfterAthena stands ready to assist the Government in doing just that.