Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

On joining DWP, all members of staff must complete a DSE assessment, which will highlight any special requirements specific to their role. Members of staff are then required to revisit this assessment every 3 years or at any time their circumstances change.

DWP endeavours to provide a contemporary and safe working environment, which meets the requirements of the Approved Documents (Building Regulations) in England and their equivalents in the devolved nations. We also follow the guiding principles of a variety of government specifications e.g. Publicly Available Specification 3000 for ‘Smart Working’ (PAS300), which recommends the use of a range of different work settings throughout a typical day to encourage movement, collaboration, and wellbeing. As well as the Government Property Agency’s Workplace Design Guidance.

The Department also has a Reasonable Adjustment Process for complex needs. This can include changes to the physical environment, alternative working patterns, or changes to work tasks.

Any changes to the way people are expected to work that might introduce significant new risk are identified and their impact considered against existing DWP health and safety policies and procedures.

DWP Health and Safety Impact Assessments are designed to give step by step support to programmes and projects who may introduce new risk. They provide a framework to help identify hazards and who might be harmed and enables DWP to record what needs to be done to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. It is mandatory for use by new programmes and projects with managers consulting with Trade Union representatives during the process.