Health, Safety and Environment Committee Minutes 10 March 2020

Minutes of the Cardiff University Health, Safety and Environment Committee held on Tuesday, 10 March 2020, Council Chamber, Main Building, Cardiff University at 10:00.

Present: Professor Karen Holford (Chair), Mr Dev Biddlecombe, Ms Emma Dalton, Mr Rob Davies, Mr Mike Francis, Professor Mark Gumbleton, Mr Gerald Harris, Mr Ben Lewis, Dr Steven Luke, Mrs Sue Midha, Professor Damien Murphy, Mr James Wareham, and Mr Matt Williamson.

In Attendance: Mr Mike Turner (Secretary), Professor Michael Bruford, Mr David Giblette, Dr Katrina Henderson, Mr Richard Rolfe, Mrs Jennis Williams (Minute Taker), and Mr Mark Williams.

Apologies: Professor Rachel Ashworth, Ms Deborah Collins, Mr Ron Leach, Ms Claire Sanders, Mr Robert Williams and Mr Simon Wright

Preliminaries

Extinction Rebellion Student Group and Students who are supporting the UCU strike

Noted

• the Committee Members were lobbied by the Extinction Rebellion Student Group and Students who are supporting the UCU strike.
• that the Extinction Rebellion Student Group and Students supporting the UCU strike lobbied the Committee on the issue of USS investing in fossil fuel and asked that the University used its weight to encourage USS to   divest in fossil fuel as billions of pounds of staff pensions are invested in fossil fuels.  They recognised that the University has divested from fossil fuels but they felt it was no longer enough and that the University needed to call out on this issue.  They felt they could not standby whilst institutions remain silent on the issues of the environment and the issue of the University’s staff pensions.
• that the Vice Chancellor will be writing to lobby USU regarding fossil fuel divestment and tobacco.
• that the Chair and the Vice Chancellor will be meeting with the Extinction Rebellion Student Group and Students who support the UCU strike on Wednesday, 11th March 2020.

Welcome

The Chair welcomed all Members to the meeting. The Chair also welcomed Professor Mark Gumbleton and Mr Rob Davies to their first meeting.

452 Minutes

452.1 Resolved the minutes of Cardiff University Health, Safety and Environment Committee held on 23 October 2019 (19/426) were confirmed as a correct record.

453 Matters arising

Received and noted paper 19/427, ‘Matters Arising’

454 Items from the Chair

No items from the Chair.

455 Health and Safety General Report

Received and considered paper 19/428, ‘Health and Safety General Report’. and an oral report from Mike Turner.

Diving at Work

Noted

455.1 that two schools have students that engage in diving operations. All diving operations take place overseas and not within UK inland or offshore waters.

455.2 that HSE requirements regarding diving competency is measured by approved diving schools who facilitate the diving operations.

455.2 that the members proposed diving and snorkelling advisory group will have diving experience or have an understanding of the diving regulations.

Resolved

455.3 to approve the development of a management system for diving (and snorkelling) at work and study.

PAS 911:2007 Fire Strategies – guidance and framework for their formulation

Noted

455.4 The University was asked by HEFCW to review our fire strategies following a fire at a student residences in Bolton in November 2019.

455.5 PAS 911:2007 Fire Strategies Framework has been added to the register of ‘Other Requirements to which the University subscribes’. The guidance is designed to allow consideration of all factors associated with a fire strategy and will form the framework of the assessment of fire management in the University.

455.6 An assurance has been given to HEFCW that the review of the University’s fire strategies will be completed by June 2020.

Stress Risk Assessments

Noted

455.7 A School/Department level stress risk template risk assessment has been developed and is being piloted in some areas. The template and associated guidance is based on the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards and complements the University’s current stress risk assessment process. The document identifies potential sources of stress, control measures and further mitigating measures. The school/department assessments will be used to inform an institutional stress risk assessment.

Health and Safety Strategy

Noted

455.8 the survey closed on 1st March 2020 and the results have been collated.  Two hundred and ninety-five responses were received. The early results are positive but a full analysis of the data will be carried out and an action plan developed.

455.9 a launch of the Health and Safety Strategy will take place after it has been endorsed by UEB.

455.10 Resolved to circulate the survey findings to Committee Members.

Objectives

455.11 Noted the progress relating to the three health and safety objectives approved by the Health, Safety and Environment Committee in March 2019.

Fire Awareness Training

Noted

455.12 the Fire Awareness mandatory training module has been reviewed and amended, following feedback regarding the length of the course and style. The revised version which is now 7 minutes long has been launched and is available through Learning Central.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Noted

455.13 the Major Incident Team was convened to manage the potential impact on the University of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

455.14 that the Major Incident Team is now meeting more frequently (every other day) and a sub-group has been set up to work through the practical elements of the various scenarios being discussed.

455.15 that an Epidemiologist from MEDIC is due to speak to senior staff about COVID-19.

Universities Mutual Association Ltd (UMAL)

Noted

455.16 that the university’s insurer, Universities Mutual Association Ltd (UMAL), carried out an assessment of the management of various aspects of the university’s estate including compliance with health and safety obligations.

455.17 that no new risks were identified.  Recommendations regarding visitors and radiation were made.  The University scored an average of 2.3 (3 being the highest score).

455.18 An action plan will be developed based on UMAL’s recommendations and will be submitted to the insurers within the three month timescale.

456 Environmental sustainability

Received and considered paper 19/94, ‘Environmental Sustainability Report’ and an oral report from Dr Katrina Henderson, Dr Mike Bruford and Mr Dev Biddlecombe.

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Steering Group

Noted

456.1 Sustainability Week has been moved from March to May 2020 due to the industrial action taking place in March. The aim is to increase and maximise engagement as much as possible.

456.2 The university has declared a climate emergency In November 2019. A Climate Emergency Working Group has been set up to develop a detailed action plan including producing a series of possible scenarios. The Group has been meeting since January 2020.

456.3 The complexity of the issues around declaring a climate emergency has meant that the Climate Emergency Working Group has been split into four sub groups:

456.3.1 The Climate Emergency Action Plan Group – developing a paper including suggested scenarios to go to Council on 6th July 2020.

456.3.2  A Carbon Modelling Group – to look at how the University will achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 (which is a very challenging target). The modelling group will look at how other Russell Group Universities are working towards carbon neutrality most of which appear to be aiming to reach their target by 2040. The group will also look at the difference between Scope 1, 2 and 3. Scope 1 and 2 are the actual activities and the energy that the University purchases. Scope 3 is related to staff travel, procurement and waste etc. (one group looking at how we are emitting carbon and will be modelling different objectives on how we can get to neutral in scope 1,2 and 3).

456.3.3 The third group will be responsible for Finance and costing the different scenarios.

456.3.4 A fourth Group will be working on operational practicalities and scenarios.

456.3.5 Resolved that the Chair of the Climate Emergency Action Plan Group should be invited to present the Climate Emergency Working Group White Paper: Phase 1 of Route to Net Zero to a meeting of the Estates and Infrastructure Group.

Regrow Borneo

Noted

456.4 the Regrow Borneo project has received over £15,000 of donations since the launch of the project on 17th of October 2019, surpassing its target. The donations have been received via a JustGiving page, a lot of the donations have come from people outside of the University.

456.5 planting and research by the community teams will start in June 2020. A report on progress will be tabled at the next meeting.

456.6 the pilot stage of the project is coming to an end and the project group will be proposing ways to embed the process into the University systems (travel expenses).

Waste KPI 11b Report

Noted

456.7 The waste KPI is linked to The Way Forward Strategic Plan.

456.8 the target is to limit the waste that goes to the energy recovery facility (ERF) to no more than 30% and increase recycling to 70% by 2025. Currently recycling is 43% and 56.5% going to the ERF. Waste to landfill has been reduced dramatically. Legislation from the Welsh Government is expected this year which will introduce 7 waste streams for recycling. This will require considerable infrastructure but it is expected will improve our recycling performance.

456.9 the Chair reported that UEB will be re-evaluating the waste KPI’s  and refresh of the strategy.  UEB will also consider the importance of carbon neutrality - whether to downgrade the waste KPI and upgrade the carbon management KPI.

Section 6 Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Report

Noted

456.10 that the Environment Act Wales 2016 requires all public bodies to submit a section 6 report relating to the ‘biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty’. The university submitted an interim section 6 report to the Welsh Government in December 2019, the report can be viewed on the university website.

456.11 that a full section 6 report will be completed by the end of the academic year to be submitted to the Welsh Government.

456.12 the Chair thanked the Dean of Sustainability for producing the Section 6 Report at such short notice.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSA)

456.13 A regulatory inspection was conducted by NRW inspectors on the 25th September 2019 of activities carried out at the Heath Park Site under our environmental permit (EPR/QB3430DG) for accumulation, use and disposal of radioactive material. The inspection focussed on work at the Wales Research and Diagnostic PET Imaging Centre (PETIC). This facility produces radiopharmaceuticals for provision of a clinical nuclear medicine service and for conducting clinical research. There were no non-compliances identified and only minor recommendations regarding waste storage were made.

456.14 On 10 March 2020, inspectors from NRW and CTSA will be visiting the areas containing the High Activity Sealed Sources. This is part of their routine, statutory inspection regimen.

Car parking

456.15 University has over 1300 parking spaces, which are allocated on a ‘length of service’ basis and this was highlighted as an area of dissatisfaction within in the travel survey results. The paper tabled is a recommendation to the Health, Safety and Environment Committee to undertake a review of the University’s car parking policy.

Resolved

456.16 That a review of the university’s car parking is undertaken as detailed in the report Proposal for the Review of University Parking.

457 Student Support – Counselling, Health and Wellbeing update

Received and considered paper 19/430 ‘Student Support and Wellbeing Update’ and an oral report from Mr Ben  Lewis.

457.1 This is the report is in response to questions raised at the last Committee.

457.2 The ratio of Disability Adviser to enrolled disabled students 1:805 is concerning.

Resolved

457.3 That Campus Patrol Officers are made aware of any possible concerns regarding students who are experiencing psychological/emotional issues and may need support/sensitive handling and that they receive training to support this role.

458 Occupational Health and Staff Wellbeing Report

Received and considered paper 19/96, ‘Occupational Health and Wellbeing report’ and an oral report from Mr Mike Turner.

Staff Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2023

Noted

458.1 The Staff Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2023 has been approved by UEB and will be launched along with the ‘Enabling Success: a Strategy for creating a Mentally Healthy University’ in the next few months. The date of the launch is to be finalised.

Enabling Success: a Strategy for creating a Mentally Healthy University

458.2 Noted the new ‘Enabling Success: a Strategy for creating a Mentally Healthy University’ (which covers staff and students) will be launched in conjunction with the Staff Wellbeing Strategy in due course.

Staff Mental Health Policy

458.3 The Staff Mental Health Policy has had UEB approval and will also be launched alongside the above strategies.

Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy and Supporting Guidance

458.4 The Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy has been considered by senior management and is due to be launched in the coming months.

Dignity and Wellbeing contacts

Noted

458.5 that Dignity and Wellbeing Contacts Network meetings have been held and the Network members have received I-act training as well as other CPD opportunities.

458.6 That of the total number of Dignity and Wellbeing Contacts, approximately, two thirds are from Professional Services Staff and one third from the Academic/ Schools.

Wellbeing workshops and initiatives

458.7 Noted the calendar of Wellbeing events which was requested by the Committee at the previous meeting.

458.8 the Committee was asked to support and promote the health and wellbeing campaigns.

I-act accredited Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing training

Noted

458.9 that the I-act accredited Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing trainingis currently being rolled out and additional in-house trainers are being trained.

458.10 that UEB members have agreed to receive the I-Act training and a course, specifically aimed at Board is being planned.

Staff wellbeing communications

Noted

458.11 that it has been identified that there is the lack of awareness that wellbeing events and training are taking place.

458.12 the team is working with Communications to try to understand how the messaging is being received and will try to refine it. Data from the Staff Wellbeing Management Systems has shown that access to the Wellbeing website needs some work to increase engagement.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Noted

458.13 that the number of staff accessing the EAP for support during 2019 has been fairly static across the period.

458.14 that emotional ill health remains a major issue.

458.15 that three quarters of the staff accessing the EAP are accessing the service for personal reasons. The Wellbeing courses currently being delivered have analysed in light of this information and, it was felt that the courses are cross cutting and therefore apply to work or personal life.

Occupational health

Noted

458.16 that Figure 7 – a breakdown of the number of case management referrals for Colleges and Professional Services is a new report to the Committee.

458.17 The College of Biomedical and Life Sciences has the largest number of referrals.

458.18 that Figure 8 highlighted that psychological ill health during the period January to December 2019.

458.19 that musculoskeletal disorders form the second highest category of referrals. Systems are in place for DSE assessment and manual handling, more work is needed to understand this trend in order to develop better interventions, there may be a link to mental ill health.

458.20 that Figure 11 notes – causes of referral due to musculoskeletal disorders - InSync Corporate Healthcare have commented that referral figures in this area “….compare similarly to that of InSync Corporate Healthcare’s other clients with a range of between 15-35% of referrals.”

458.21 that the current work on stress and the management of stress is key to addressing these trends and the mental health support and initiatives.

Resolved

458.22 to refine/clarify the figures/percentages used in the Figures – a break down of the number of case management referrals for Colleges and Professional Services, in relation to BLS College and the proportion of referrals related to ‘Professional Services’ staff within the College compared to ‘Academic’ staff.

458.23 that the Committee receive a report on EAP comparative data within the sector.

459 Accidents and incidents

Received and considered paper 19/98, ‘Accidents and Incidents’ received an oral report from Mr Richard Rolfe.

459.1 Noted that there had been a decline in accidents and incidents; and near misses have shown a slight increase.

460 Monitoring systems

Received and considered paper 19/98 ‘Monitoring Systems’ and received an oral report from Mr Richard Rolfe.

Noted

460.1 the two year audit cycle has just been completed.  All scheduled audits were completed within the cycle and the new two year audit cycle has commenced.

Comparison of completed Audit cycles 2016/2017 to 2018/2019

Figure 1 – Comparison of Corrective Action Reports 2016 to 2019.

460.2 Noted the comparison between cycles 2016/17 and 2018/19 which illustrates a reduction in the top five CARs in 2018/19.

Annual Safety, Health and Environment Returns

Noted

460.3 that there had been a 79% response to this year’s annual return compared to last year which was 100%.

460.4 that the statistics from the Returns are currently being analysed.

460.5 that the closing date for the returns was after the production of the report for today’s meeting.  Of the responses received to-date: 100% have SHE Objectives in place; 94% have indicated that new staff induction have been completed; and 80% of management reviews completed.

Resolved

460.6 that the Committee receive a report on the 10 Schools/ Departments that have not submitted their Annual Safety, Health and Environment Return.

460.7 that in the future DSO’s will be copied into Annual Safety, Health and Environment memo sent to Heads of Schools/ Departments.

461 Trade Union update

No update was received.

462 Student Union update

Received and considered a verbal update from the Students Union representative.

Noted

462.1 that SU ran engagement events on Mental Health Day

462.2 that SU has declared a Climate Emergency

462.3 that SU have set up a Climate Emergency group and are reviewing their carbon emissions and have made good progress on waste.

462.4 that the ECOSIA search engine has been rolled out.

462.5 that SU have determined that their CO2 emissions levels are 57%.

463 Security Report

Received and considered paper 19/434, ‘Security Report’.

Proposal for the introduction of Body Worn Video (BWV) cameras for Security Patrol staff

463.1 Resolved to recommend the approval of the use of Body Worn Video Cameras by Campus Patrol Offices to the Governance Committee.

463.2 Noted that the HSE Committee watched the SafeZone emergency scenario video created by Heriot-Watt University to demonstrate how SafeZone works in practice.

464 Update on college meetings

464.1 AHSS College SHE Minutes

Received and noted an oral report regarding the AHSS College SHE Minutes.

464.2 BLS College SHE Minutes

Received and noted an oral report regarding the BLS College SHE Minutes.