Lord Young of ‘Gaffem’ back in favour at Number 10
Good news and bad news for worker safety in the UK
Bad news: Lord Young is back
Good news: there is no good news, well not much anyway…
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‘Never had it so good’ peer Lord Young of Graffam returned to Downing Street last week on Prime Minister’s Mates’ Service or PIMMS…
His mission, having chosen to accept it, is to help businesses thrive by ridding them of red tape and stifling health and safety regulations.
Thus a fundamentally flawed premise is enshrined in the noble Lord’s brief – Health & Safety costs money and costs jobs.
In stark contrast to the UK’s government’s stance on health and safety in the workplace, David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), said on 15th February this year:
‘Despite concerns about the effect of regulation on American business, there is clear evidence that OSHA’s commonsense regulations have made working conditions in this country today far safer than 40 years ago when the agency was created, while at the same time protecting American jobs.’
Unfazed by the irony in resurrecting Lord Young’s career in the run up to Halloween, Number 10 officials have set up a new office for the 79-year-old peer who will spearhead a new push to remove barriers to growth for small and medium size companies.
His focus will be on working to ensure businesses are not stifled by regulation and he will look closely at the way health and safety rules impact on firms.
No agenda there then?
Last year his report Common sense, Common Safety, was welcomed by Mr. Cameron who has asked the Conservative peer to cut through the rule book and see where ministers can help businesses.
Unfortunately neither Mr. Cameron, the insurance industry lobby nor the bulk of commentators who regularly line up to vilify accident victims actually noticed that Lord Young didn’t agree with them…
For the record, this is what he said on page 19 of ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’:
Britain’s ‘compensation culture’ is fuelled by media stories about individuals receiving large compensation payouts for personal injury claims…
The problem of the compensation culture prevalent in society today is, however, one of perception rather than reality…
The public believes that the number of claims and the amount paid out in damages have also risen significantly.
The really unfortunate thing however is that Lord Young singularly failed to get this ‘common sense’ message across.
He wrote that the compensation culture is more myth than reality yet he remained mute and supine on the core issue when the report’s findings were made public. Perhaps this is why he is so suited to the task of fixing the non-problem of the ‘burden’ of Health & Safety legislation?
Last November Lord Young of Gaffem pronounced:
For the vast majority of people in the country today, they have never had it so good ever since this recession – this so-called recession – started…”
We await with baited breath, his magisterial musings on the tiresome burden imposed by laws designed to keep people safe and well at work in the UK.
However, Mr. Cameron has clearly decided Lord Young has served his time and will welcome him back…just when we thought he had gone for good last October…
So farewell then Lord Young of Gaffem.
You resigned after you made a gaffe.
You claimed that most people had ‘never had it so good.’
Unfortunately this just isn’t true,
Like much of your ‘Common Sense Common Safety’ review.
Adieu.
But not so fast, the prodigal returns.
Expect many more workplace cuts, crushes, crashes and burns.
