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24/08/2011
'Ridiculous' Health And Safety Bans Exposed
A list of the most bizarre health and safety bans has been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The list includes reports of dodgem cars being stopped from bumping into each other at Butlins in Skegness, a kite-flying ban on a beach in east Yorkshire and bans on Royal Wedding street parties.
The list also included reports of a pensioner being forced to remove an old, bulky television from her home, in case council workmen injured themselves, and a ban on pins used to secure poppies.
Children were also stopped from playing on monkey bars unsupervised in Oxfordshire, while a school in Tyne and Wear banned three-legged and sack races and a school in Huyton banned football games - unless the ball was made of sponge.
However, the most high profile story was the news that officials at Wimbledon had closed Henman Hill - now renamed Murray Mount - a popular point where crowds gathered to watch matches on a big screen amid fears that fans would slip on wet grass and enjoy themselves.
The HSE said that such cases undermined people's confidence in the legislation.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "We have seen an epidemic of excuses wrongly citing health and safety as a reason to prevent people from doing pretty harmless things with only very minor risks attached. This has to stop. The law does not require this to happen - people must be encouraged to use their common sense."
(KMcA/GK)
The list includes reports of dodgem cars being stopped from bumping into each other at Butlins in Skegness, a kite-flying ban on a beach in east Yorkshire and bans on Royal Wedding street parties.
The list also included reports of a pensioner being forced to remove an old, bulky television from her home, in case council workmen injured themselves, and a ban on pins used to secure poppies.
Children were also stopped from playing on monkey bars unsupervised in Oxfordshire, while a school in Tyne and Wear banned three-legged and sack races and a school in Huyton banned football games - unless the ball was made of sponge.
However, the most high profile story was the news that officials at Wimbledon had closed Henman Hill - now renamed Murray Mount - a popular point where crowds gathered to watch matches on a big screen amid fears that fans would slip on wet grass and enjoy themselves.
The HSE said that such cases undermined people's confidence in the legislation.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "We have seen an epidemic of excuses wrongly citing health and safety as a reason to prevent people from doing pretty harmless things with only very minor risks attached. This has to stop. The law does not require this to happen - people must be encouraged to use their common sense."
(KMcA/GK)
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