Shea John Ryan

(1) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction generally to emphasise and to promote the objective of protecting children from the risks arising from construction sites; and specifically to promote the taking of precautionary measures (i) to reduce the risk of children trespassing on a construction site, and (ii) to protect trespassing children from the particular risks presented to them by any incomplete manhole thereon. (2) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction to include express provision for principal contractors to establish systems of working formally to record, document, report and monitor (i) all incidents of damage to perimeter fencing around the construction site, and the action taken to repair or replace such damaged fencing, and (ii) all incidents of suspected unauthorised access to the construction site (especially by children), and the action taken to prevent a recurrence thereof. (3) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction to include express provision that, outwith operational hours on construction sites, effective measures should be taken by principal contractors to prevent unauthorised access to the inspection chamber of any incomplete manhole thereon. (4) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction generally to further promote the statutory duty upon proximate principal contractors to cooperate with each other to enable the fulfilment of their respective statutory duties under Regulation 8(4) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; and, specifically, with a view to promoting the protection of children from the risks arising from construction sites. (5) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction to include express provision for cooperation between proximate principal contractors by promoting the establishment of systems of working to facilitate the routine and timely disclosure of information between such contractors concerning incidents (especially involving children) of unauthorised access to construction sites or compounds, vandalism or damage to perimeter fencing, theft from construction sites or compounds, or abusive or disorderly conduct by a member of the public towards any worker at such sites or compounds. (6) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction to include express provision for greater cooperation between principal contractors in circumstances where possession and control of a construction site is to be transferred from one principal contractor to another; and specifically to include express provision for the timeous disclosure by the transferor to the transferee of information about identified risks, precautionary measures, incidents of unauthorised access, vandalism, damage, theft, or abusive conduct. (7) The Health and Safety Executive should review and consider revising its published guidance on the management of health and safety in construction to include express provision highlighting to principal contractors (i) the increased risk of damage to and breach of perimeter fencing at construction sites in the vicinity of children's play parks; (ii) the resulting increased risk of children seeking to gain unauthorised access to such sites at such locations; (iii) the necessity to consider these increased risks in any risk assessment undertaken by the principal contractors in relation to the site; and (iv) the necessity, in the context of any such risk assessment, to consider taking enhanced precautionary measures, both around and within such sites, to control those increased risks. (8) Glasgow City Council, and other Scottish local authorities, should review and consider revising their practices, procedures and policies to ensure that, in respect of any children's play park for which they have management responsibility and which is located in the vicinity of a construction site, a risk assessment is carried out by or on behalf of the local authority to determine the nature and extent of the risks, if any, presented to children by the nearby construction site.