Offshore Industry: Safety

(asked on 28th October 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last discussed the safety of workers in the offshore oil and gas industry with representatives of (a) trades unions and (b) the oil and gas industry.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 4th November 2019

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and trade unions are members of Step Change in Safety (SCiS) which meets regularly to discuss the safety of the workforce in the offshore sector. In September 2019, an event was organised by SCiS to recognise the influence of the elected safety representatives on offshore safety in the 30 years since legislation was enacted mandating their appointment at all installations in the UKCS. HSE provided speakers and logistical support for this event. The event was attended by over 300 people. It was also live broadcasted worldwide, enabling workers on offshore installations and regulators from other countries to participate.

HSE officials engage with industry leaders through its membership of Oil and Gas UK (OGUK). At OGUK’s annual safety conference in November 2019, industry leaders will be making a formal commitment to improve their Process Safety Leadership. HSE’s Chair will be speaking at that conference, setting out his expectations for industry leaders, including the need to improve their Process Safety Leadership for the management of major hazard risks.

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