Health and Safety in Newham

We aim to provide support to Newham businesses by helping them understand and manage their legal duties.

What do we do?

Along with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Newman Council has a legal duty to enforce the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and related legislation. On behalf of the council, the Health and Safety Team aims to ensure that work premises are safe for employees and visitors to them and that accidents are prevented wherever possible.

To do this we perform a number of duties:

• conducting health and safety inspections at places of work to ensure compliance with health and safety law, sometimes in accordance with government priorities
• providing advice and guidance
• investigate complaints about health, safety or welfare in work premises
• accepting and logging statutory reports such as accident reports, adverse lift reports, launderette certificates and cooling tower registrations/decommissions
• investigate accidents to employees or others which occur in workplaces
• running campaigns to raise public awareness of important issues
• use educational techniques as well as legal means to achieve compliance
• give advice on how to safely organise public events, eg fairs, displays, carnivals, pop concerts, etc
• work with Planning and Building Control Officers to advise on the health and safety implications of new developments
• give advice to customers and all stakeholders on health and safety issues
• work with other health professionals locally and nationally.

Routine inspections are carried out on a priority-based system. The frequency depends on the type and size of premises, the work activity and the health and safety history of the business. Projects or surveys are carried out in workplaces where problems have been highlighted in the past, for example where similar accidents have happened before.