The Health and Safety Committee of Lewisham Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, 3 February 2026. The meeting's agenda includes an update on health and safety matters, as well as an analysis of incidents within the council's libraries.

Health and Safety Committee Update

This report, prepared by Richard Benjamin, Head of Assurance, and Sarfraz Anwar, Corporate Health and Safety Manager, will provide the committee with an overview of health and safety matters that have been raised in previous meetings. It will also summarise information from the Corporate Health and Safety Board, including recent accident and incident statistics. The report aims to inform the committee about the council's health and safety governance and assist in fulfilling its responsibilities, particularly concerning non-domestic service users.

A key area of discussion will be the provision of defibrillators. The report indicates that there are currently eighteen defibrillators located in various council buildings, all registered with the London Ambulance Service via The Circuit Network. However, it has not been possible to create a map of these defibrillators due to difficulties in acquiring data in the correct format. The report also notes that there is no corporate management budget for defibrillators, with individual corporate buildings responsible for ordering, paying for, and maintaining their own equipment. Guidance on the provision of defibrillators, including the role of nominated officers and registration with The Circuit, has been provided by the Corporate Health and Safety team.

The report will also cover the role of site responsible persons, who hold a primary, non-delegable duty for site safety and compliance. Their responsibilities include carrying out risk assessments, implementing safety measures, planning for emergencies, providing training, and maintaining records. Lewisham Council offers specific training modules in Fire Safety Awareness, Asbestos Awareness, and Water Safety (Legionella). A handbook is also available to assist Site Responsible Officers.

Fire evacuations and record-keeping will be discussed, with reference to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). The report details two recent fire evacuations of Laurence House, highlighting key learning points and actions taken. An update on an improvement notice received from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding asbestos will also be provided, noting that the notice has been complied with.

The report will also present premises inspection data, including risk assessments for fire safety and water hygiene, and a checklist of statutory health and safety compliance inspections. It will detail identified risks, with a focus on the actions taken to address them at specific locations such as Catford Library, Grove Park (Adult Education), Riverside Youth Centre, and Broadway Theatre. Incident statistics from the Corporate Health and Safety Board will be shared, broken down by directorate and incident type, including injuries and near misses. The report will also touch upon the Health and Safety Self-assessment audit for 2025, noting varying levels of engagement across directorates.

Libraries Incident Analysis

This report, also authored by Richard Benjamin and Sarfraz Anwar, focuses specifically on health and safety incidents within Lewisham Council's Hub Libraries: Catford, Downham, Deptford, and Lewisham. It provides a comparative analysis of incidents for the periods October 2024 – September 2025 and October 2023 – September 2024, examining incident types, primary causes, and the status of those involved. Community Libraries are responsible for their own health and safety management and are not included in this data, except for statutory compliance visits at Corbett Community Library.

The report indicates an overall increase in incidents, with verbal and threatening abuse and near misses being the main drivers. Abuse now accounts for a significant proportion of all incidents. The report notes an improvement in data quality, with a reduction in the 'Not known' category. Illness incidents have fallen, and the report suggests monitoring for potential under-reporting. There were no RIDDOR incidents reported in either period.

Specific insights for each library will be presented. Catford Library, which experiences high levels of anti-social behaviour, has seen a decrease in total incidents but a significant rise in Near Miss incidents. Deptford Library has experienced a near doubling of total incidents, with a sharp rise in Near Miss incidents and a more than doubling of Abuse verbal/threatening behaviour incidents. Downham Library's incident numbers remained unchanged, though An injury incidents quadrupled. Lewisham Library has been closed for refurbishment since September 2023.

The report will also detail actions taken in response to incidents, including police involvement, security interventions, and staff actions such as de-escalation techniques, issuing banning letters, and blocking library cards. Training initiatives, including conflict management and welfare and vulnerability engagement, will also be discussed. The report highlights that the Service has recently signed up to the Safer Business Network, which will introduce further measures regarding CCTV and offender identification. Lewisham Heritage & Library Service is part of The Libraries Consortium, and a Banning Policy is in place, which is currently being revised.

Declarations of Interest

Members of the committee will be asked to declare any personal interests they may have in any of the agenda items. The report outlines the different types of personal interests, including disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests, and non-registerable interests, as defined by the Council's Member Code of Conduct. It also details the procedures for declaring interests and the potential consequences of failing to do so.