On the last day of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, David Cameron delivered his keynote speech. In this speech1, David stated “But one of the biggest things holding people back is the shadow of health and safety”.

David Lummis, Chief Executive Officer at the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) remarks: “Whilst the BSIF fully supports the Government’s efforts to reduce red tape on organisations, recent comments made by the Prime Minister in his Conservative conference speech portrayed Health and Safety as a ‘shadow’ – surely this cannot be right! Whilst some ‘anoraks’ in Health and Safety may go substantially too far in their conquests, condemning Health and Safety as a whole creates the impression of a laissez faire attitude. This approach could lead to a substantial increase in actual harm to workers - all of this unnecessary harm could be prevented by simple, proportionate measures that assist, not hinder businesses.

“We need to reign in the very small...