Mistakes should not be repeated
Strath councillor makes call
A councillor has called for mistakes made at Crieff Recycling Centre not to be repeated.
Stewart Donaldson was alluding to a “highly critical” letter from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following its visit to the North Forr site.
The Strathearn SNP elected member said what had been seen by the HSE as material breaches were “also multiple breaches”.
In January refuse collector Scott Hunter – who was based at the site – died of Covid-19.
He was one of three staff members based at in Crieff to contract coronavirus.
It is understood the HSE noted contraventions of health and safety law when it visited the site at North Forr on January 20.
The HSE’s letter was raised at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council on February 24.
Cllr Donaldson asked if the necessary checks had been made at PKC’s other depots at Friarton in Perth, Pitlochry, Blairgowrie and Kinross.
The local authority’s depute director of communities, Clare Mailer, said: “We have a very detailed action plan that was put in place immediately following the inspection which picked up on every single point that was raised by the HSE.”
She added: “We have taken the response from HSE extremely seriously and there has been a high level of oversight in these actions at a very senior level throughout our service.”
Mrs Mailer said as a result of the situation in Crieff they had taken a “robust and thorough overview of all quality assurance arrangements”.
Councillors were told a response to the HSE would be submitted by the end of last week and checks were made at PKC’s other depots.
After the meeting, a spokesperson for the council said: “The safety of staff is our priority and we take all practical measures to protect them from Covid-19. Our thoughts remain with Scott’s family at this difficult time.
“The HSE wrote to us with their findings following a planned visit to North Forr on January 20, which was not connected to this case.
“We immediately commenced a further review of procedures and put in place an action plan to address all the points they raised.
“We have also carried out checks of practices at all our other depots including Friarton in Perth, Pitlochry, Blairgowrie and Kinross.
“We have also developed an improvement plan which specifically addresses the improvements the HSE recommended, and we are working with trade union colleagues and employees to implement the changes and the ongoing improvements to our policies and procedures.
“Covid-19 cases have been, and remain, very low within Perth and Kinross Council’s operational depots, demonstrating the effectiveness of the arrangements we have had in place since March last year. Clearly there is always a real risk of community transmission.”
The three Strathearn ward councillors met with council officials on February 24 to discuss the issue.
Cllr Donaldson welcomed the meeting and said he hoped for a further update.
He said: “Make no doubt, this is an immensely serious matter. The council was in breach of the law.
“What were seen by the HSE as material breaches were also multiple breaches.
“One of the major problems has been communication. I would still like to know why it took more than a fortnight for the corporate health and safety team at the council to be alerted to the situation in Crieff “That cannot and must not happen again. “I’m pleased there is now ongoing engagement with the trade unions on the issues raised by the HSE letter, and I’m sure it will be a major issue for the next meeting of the council’s corporate health and safety committee.”