Executive summary
We recorded 2,189 health, safety and wellbeing incidents in 2025 to 2026. This reflects that we have a positive reporting culture across our services and the schools we maintain. Most incidents were low severity. A total of 1,646 incidents (75%) were not reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), and 434 incidents (20%) were recorded as near misses. This demonstrates that we proactively identify risks and take preventative action.
There were 33 incidents that met the criteria for reporting under RIDDOR. Most involved:
- manual handling
- slips, trips and falls,
- low-speed vehicle movements.
These remain key areas of risk for our operational and frontline services.
The highest number of incidents occurred in busy service areas, particularly:
- Waste and Environmental Services
- Adult Social Care
- Schools
- Fleet and Transport operations
Most resulted in minor injuries or effects, but these incidents can still have an ongoing impact on staff wellbeing. Common themes included:
- falls in care settings
- injuries from sharp objects in waste
- incidents of violence or aggression towards staff
Although serious incidents remain rare, the data shows that some familiar risks continue to cause repeat incidents. During 2026 to 2027, we will focus on strengthening existing controls and preventing avoidable harm. Priority areas will include slips, trips and falls, manual handling, vehicle safety, management of sharps, and reducing violence and abuse towards staff.
Overall, the data shows we are compliant with regulations. Our arrangements for reporting, investigating and responding to incidents are working effectively. The increased level of reporting provides valuable information to help improve safety, although we need to continue our effort to reduce recurring incidents and prevent predictable harm.
Key achievements in 2025 to 2026
Our achievements include:
- our Senior Leader and trade union representatives continued to attend regular health and safety committee meetings across the organisation
- we continued to update staff regularly about health, safety and wellbeing – for example, our monthly Together We Work Safely communications.
- we carried out more work to promote Respect at Work and reduce the risks from violence and abuse
- we continued to encourage the reporting and investigation of accidents, incidents and near misses
- we introduced the Wisdom Employee Assistance Programme
- we established a dedicated Occupational Health Team for Westmorland and Furness staff
- we continued to provide professional health and safety support across all our services and maintained schools
Organisation and context
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, we recognise our legal and moral duties to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and elected members. Our duties also apply to anyone who is affected by our work.
In our second year as a unitary authority, we have continued to build a positive safety culture. Everyone is expected to take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others. This includes employees, elected members, partners and contractors.
We have worked with our recognised trade unions to develop and improve our health and safety arrangements. At the same time, we have responded to organisational change and improvement programmes while managing the financial pressures faced nationally by local government.
We deliver a wide and complex range of operational and public-facing services, including:
- highways
- waste and recycling
- social care
- community services
- libraries
- museums
- public health
- trading standards corporate support services
We provide support and are the employer for many primary, secondary, special and maintained schools. While governing bodies are responsible for managing health and safety in their schools, we have key employer responsibilities that cannot be delegated.
To support strong health and safety performance across our services and schools, we:
- set clear objectives
- monitor performance
- promote wellbeing, including a structured wellbeing officer
- provide accessible documents and guidance
- communicate regularly with employees, elected members and trade union
- offer professional advice, risk management tools and training to help people work safely – this encourages positive behaviours and helps us to meet our health and safety responsibilities
Enabling our safety systems
Corporate Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Cabinet approved our updated Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy Statement in June 2025. It was signed by the Leader, the Portfolio Holder and the Chief Executive. It shows our commitment to keeping people safe and promoting wellbeing.
The policy explains what we expect in key areas, such as:
- leadership
- staff involvement
- accountability
- governance
- risk identification
- competent professional advice, training and performance monitoring
We are continuing to make sure that these principles are applied consistently across all our services. This includes plans to introduce a new online incident reporting system and improve the way investigations and audits are monitored and reviewed.
Leadership and governance
We have continued to strengthen our senior governance framework for managing health and safety across the Council. Health and safety committees meet regularly in all directorates and corporately. Management and trade colleagues co-chair these meetings. This helps to encourage open discussion and challenge, shared learning and staff involvement.
Our Corporate Management Teams oversee health, safety and wellbeing as standing items in meeting agendas. This ensures that risks, incidents and performance are reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
We have also established a range of internal governance and forums that focus on health, safety and wellbeing.
Operational Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Our policies and procedures make managers, governors, headteachers in maintained schools responsible for identifying and managing risks. This also includes contractors working on our behalf. We expect them to consider health, safety and wellbeing an integral part of their day-to-day management arrangements.
Our People Plan: Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Our People Plan sets out how we support a healthy, engaged workforce. It includes commitments to promote wellbeing, improve employee engagement, and ensure our policies and working practices put people first.
The Corporate Health and Safety Team
Our Corporate Health and Safety Team provides competent advice and professional support across our organisation. This includes guidance, model risk assessments, statutory reporting, support with incident investigations, and activities that help improve our health and safety culture.
The team has recently expanded to provide additional support to higher-risk services. It encourages a proactive approach to managing risks through audits, inspections, monitoring and learning from incidents and experiences.
Customer Experience and Safety of Customer Facing Teams
We continue to promote our Customer Charter, which is available on our website and displayed in our public buildings. The charter reinforces our commitment to putting customers at the heart of everything we do. It explains what customers can expect from the council and what we expect from them in return.
Our Charter makes sure that the safety of employees who deal directly with customers are a priority. To support this, we set up a Customer Health and Safety Group. The group brings together staff involved in delivering, supporting and training customer-facing services. It provides a forum to discuss risks, share good practice and promote safe ways of working.
We are committed to providing accessible services and expect our employees to be respectful, helpful and responsive. However, incident data shows that staff regularly experience challenging and abusive behaviour. The group reviews our approach on an ongoing basis to make sure our buildings, working practices and training help reduce these risks as much as possible.
As part of this the Corporate Health and Safety Team developed an internal audit towards the end of the year. The audit will assess how we manage the risks of violence and abuse and identify opportunities for improvement. It will cover a range of services across the council.
Together we work safely campaign
The Health and Safety team send monthly communications to staff. It includes reminders on the importance of reporting incidents and assessing risks at work. It also covers subjects such as:
- physical and emotional wellbeing
- men’s health
- safe driving
- summer safety, preventing slips, trips and falls
Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) activity
The HSE inspected our asbestos management practices in late 2024. This was part of their national programme to assess asbestos management by local authorities. Our Corporate Asset Team have acknowledged the HSE’s findings and developed an agreed action plan. This includes:
- a full review of asbestos survey information for assets
- an externally led review to put an updated Corporate Asbestos Management Policy and procedure into place
Directorate updates
Thriving Places
The Thriving Places directorate has continued to bring best practices from the former councils into line with each other. It has focused on our ways working in two of two of our higher risk services, which are:
- waste and environmental services
- sustainable transport and highways
The directorate has also worked across:
- climate and natural environment
- inclusive and green growth services
The directorate holds regular health and safety meetings at both senior management and operational levels. Internal audits have been carried out within waste and environmental services too. It is working hard to make sure we have safe working environments and systems in place across all of our services.
Services work closely with the Corporate Health and Safety team to develop consistent policies, procedures and systems that help manage and reduce significant health and safety risks. Senior managers regularly consult with trade union colleagues on personal protective equipment (PPE), safe systems of work and risk assessments. They also work with other services across the council to support good health and safety practice.
Training, information, instruction and supervision are managed within services, alongside regular reviews of PPE and existing risk assessments. This has helped strengthen the health and safety culture across the directorate and improve communication about key responsibilities and safety messages.
The directorate is also continuing to invest in training and development to ensure employees have the skills, qualifications and experience needed to manage risks effectively in their roles.
Resources
Over the last financial year, the Resources Directorate has focused on bringing together the knowledge, skills and ways of working from the former councils to better support services and stakeholders across the new authority. This includes:
- overseeing procurement of goods and services, finance, property and asset management across our estate and maintained schools
- managing our fleet management
- delivering a significant capital programme
The Directorate has continued to hold regular senior management health and safety meetings. It has worked closely with the Corporate Health and Safety Team to develop consistent policies, procedures and systems for significant health and safety risks. This helps provide assurance to both the other services and Directorates they work with.
The Corporate Asset Team has made good progress in updating Concerto with important information about buildings and assets, including:
- asbestos and legionella management
- planned maintenance and repair records.
The team has also focused on staff training and development to ensure employees have the skills, qualifications and experience needed to manage risks effectively and support other services.
Our Corporate Fleet Team continues to manage road risks effectively and has introduced a programme of continuous improvement. The programme strongly focuses on standardising our processes and procedures to improve consistency and maintain high health and safety standards.
Members of the Directorate Management Team and the wider Senior Management Team regularly consult with trade unions. They remain committed to supporting staff on health, safety, wellbeing and mental health matters. These actions have have helped to:
- strengthen communication
- improve the our health and safety culture
- support the development of the new Directorate.
Thriving Communitities
We have been working with the police and other partners to tackle anti-social behaviour in Kendal and Barrow libraries. Together, we have supported staff, introduced preventative measures and addressed issues early.
Police involvement has significantly reduced incidents. This included:
- drop-in sessions
- support from the dedicated police officer for Kendal
- enforcement action
Library staff will also receive anti-social behaviour training to help strengthen our response.
Adult Social Care
The reshaping of our Adult Social Care service completed and put in place during this third year. On top of this, we also had our CQC inspection in June 2025, which brought its own challenges.
The CQC report highlighted our many strengths, including:
- “person centred work”
- “supportive, visible leadership”
- “strong partnership”
It also outlined areas for improvement. These were not a surprise, as they matched the findings in our own self-assessment.
We always strive for continual approvement. It was good to see that the areas we were already focusing on matched those identified by the CQC. The Corporate Health and Safety Team has continued to support the work we do well and help us make improvements in the areas identified.
The work carried out during our first two years continues to have a positive effect. Staff across the directorate are reporting more accidents, incidents and near misses. Investigating these reports and learning from them has helped reduce:
- lost time incidents
- RIDDOR reportable incidents
This has been the case for the second year in a row.
Some risks and incidents are unavoidable because of the nature of Adult Social Care work. The Corporate Health and Safety Team’s Adult Social Care Business Partner and Advisers have worked closely with managers and staff across the directorate. They have helped make sure that:
- risks are understood
- controls are in place
- there is effective communication around risks and controls
Next year, we will strengthen this work by restarting the audit programme. This will begin with an audit of violence and abuse, which aligns with our internal Respect at Work programme.
Maintained Schools
In schools, we have completed a full review of health and safety documents. We have simplified the guidance and organised it into clear topics on the Schools Portal. The updated documents:
- explain roles and responsibilities more clearly
- are easier to read
- include practical examples for schools to use
Advisers have supported a major review of fire safety arrangements. This provides both strategic advice and on-the-ground assistance.
We have continued to carry out soft audits throughout the year. The Schools Health and Safety Committee meets every three months to:
- review performance
- monitor trends
- drive continuous improvement
We have started a new initiative in this area. We are working to make sure all schools understand their responsibility to report incidents to us. We review all incident reports before adding them to the system and provide feedback where needed. This has improved the quality of reports. It has also helped schools to identify effective ways to prevent similar incidents.
We have expanded our health and safety service offer to schools. Working with other services and partners, we now provide more training and support in areas such as:
- first aid
- fire warden duties
- educational visits
- building compliance processes
It is encouraging to see that schools are making good use of these services, and participation has increased.
Children’s Services
Health and Safety has continued to improve governance arrangements across Children’s Services. This includes:
- holding health and safety meetings every three months (quarterly)
- carrying out audits where needed
- improving communication channels
Accident reporting has improved. Reports are submitted quicker and contain better information. This includes clearer actions to correct problems and prevent them from happening again.
Children and Young People Services has also continued to improve their lone working arrangement. The service reviewed and updated their arrangements to ensure they:
- remain robust
- are practical
- meet the service’s current needs
They completed this work with help and advice from the Health and Safety team. This has strengthened safe working practices and increased staff confidence when working independently.
Health and Safety also took part in a targeted budget sprint review. This was of transport arrangements for individual pupils with special educational needs (SEN). By working together, services identified ways to improve processes and potentially increase efficiency. This collaborative approach also reinforced the importance of sharing information promptly.
Training was provided for SEN School Transport and the Council Transport Operations Team (CTOT). It covered:
- health and safety roles and responsibilities
- lone working
- using the E-Safety system
- reporting incidents
The sessions were designed to help staff understand their responsibilities. They also promoted consistent safe working practices across the service.
Enabler Services and the Assistant Chief Executive
Both directorates continue to share a Health and Safety Committee. This year, we have focused on improving risk controls for services that deal directly with customers.
We set up a focus group of service managers from across the Council to discuss shared risks. The group also:
- identifies hazards that affect several services
- improves risk control and safe working measures needed to protect staff and customers
- shares their experience and learning to help identify best practice, and put it in place
- champions the development of better risk control and procedures
- provides feedback to the Health and Safety Committee on behalf of customer-facing services