The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) annual residential meeting is being conducted in Edinburgh this week (until Thursday 8 June 2006) to permit members to understand health and safety from a Scottish perspective.
In addition to meeting Scottish Executive Ministers and officials and a range of organisations in Scotland with an interest in delivering higher standards of health and safety, a feature of the week's proceedings is a visit to Scottish Power Energy Network's PowerLearning facility in Cumbernauld. The organisation is benefiting from a 3-year action plan which is now part of HSE's Field Operations Interventions with Large Employers (FOILE) initiative. HSE's supportive role aims to secure improvements in health and safety performance, it is hoped 'world class' status can be achieved within 5 years.

Comment:
"The Commission is pleased to get the opportunity to hold its residential in Scotland. It gives us the chance to meet with key stakeholders and learn from their experiences. There has been a great deal of innovative thinking in Scotland on how the health of the working age population can be improved and this has influenced developments such as the Health, Work and Well-being strategy. I also want to pay tribute to the development of the Partnership for Health and Safety in Scotland, a Commission-led group which is examining how the Commission's strategy can best be implemented in Scotland." - HSC Chair.
"The occasion provides an opportunity to highlight the proactive approach and commitment we take towards our health and safety vision. It also provides the Commission and Executive a chance to meet our next generation of apprentices and graduates during a series of craft and technical workshops. The visit and constructive relationship through such initiatives as FOILE can only help reinforce our commitment to health and safety." - Health and Safety Director of Scottish Power Energy Networks.