What you need

These resources guide you through the steps to plan, agree and run your Local Management Agreement.

Health and safety

Taking on responsibility for services under a Local Management Agreement also means taking on the legal obligations and good practice for staying safe. Some services come with quite a lot of law and regulations attached (for example, gardening and cleaning).

For residents providing services directly
You must be aware of, and be competent to meet all the necessary health and safety requirements. The main regulations come from:

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations 1996
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995
• Controlled Waste Regulations 1991
• Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981

These laws and regulations alter from time to time, so you must also keep up to date with any changes. For most Local Management Agreements, you will need to draw up a statement of your health and safety policy, to show how you meet these obligations.

Even if residents provide services as unpaid volunteers, they have the same status as employees for health and safety issues. You also owe an extra duty of care to any young people (aged 16-18) involved in providing services.

So, the Council will provide or help to arrange training on these requirements and good practice, before the Local Management Agreement starts. This will be pitched at the appropriate level for the service, but could include accredited training by a professional body (for example, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s ‘Supervising Safety’ course).

Health and safety is one of the key competencies that you must demonstrate before taking over services under a Local Management Agreement. See ‘Who can do it’

For contractors, providers and suppliers
All contractors and other providers and suppliers working under Local Management Agreements must demonstrate that they are aware of, and meet, the relevant health and safety requirements and good practice. The Council may provide or help to arrange training on this before the Local Management Agreement starts.

When appointing contractors, residents must make sure that firms are competent to meet their health and safety obligations.

The key to health and safety
Two principles underpin most health and safety:

• Assessing and managing risks
• Common sense.

Whoever provides services must identify the hazards and assess the risks likely to arise from the activity – both how likely it is that something will go wrong, and what the impact will be if it does. Having assessed the hazards and risks, you must then put sensible measures in place to avoid, minimise and manage them – and review and update these regularly.

Example: residents doing caretaking work must use proper protective footwear, clothing and gloves, and know how to lift heavy objects and handle and dispose of glass or syringes safely.

No-one can guarantee common sense, but regular training and reminders and good systems can help! Assessing risks for health and safety supports your general planning and project management, to help you get things right.

More help
If you need any more advice about health and safety, contact the Council’s Safety Unit.

Many contractors employed by local councils are registered and accredited under the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS), which is supported by the Health & Safety Executive (see www.chas.gov.uk). Although this is not a requirement for residents and contractors providing services under a Local Management Agreement, it does provide a very useful framework for health and safety management, whether you’re a small firm or group of local people, right up to a big company.

The key requirements to meet the CHAS standard are commitments to:

• Provide adequate control of the health, safety and welfare risks arising from your activities which may affect employees or others
• Consult with employees on matters affecting health and safety
• Provide and maintain safe plant and equipment
• Ensure safe handling and use of substances
• Provide information, instruction and supervision for employees
• Ensure all employees are competent to do their tasks, and give them adequate training
• Prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health
• Maintain safe and healthy working conditions
• Ensure there are sufficient funds to implement all this
• Review and revise your health and safety arrangements regularly and at least every 12 months.

Firms registering for CHAS also have to submit relevant evidence and documents, for example:

• Health and safety method statement and risk assessment
• Copies of training certificates for staff
• COSHH assessments
• Details of how any sub-contractors are assessed for competence in health and safety.
The Health & Safety Executive offers lots of other useful advice and publications (see www.hse.gov.uk).

The local Voluntary Services Council may also be able to help.