Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that care providers have a (a) clear and (b) enforceable duty of care towards employees who are victims of serious assaults in the workplace.

The Government condemns violent or aggressive behaviour towards social care staff. They have a right to expect a safe and secure workplace.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), and the health and safety regulations made under it, impose duties on employers, such as care providers, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their workers, and to assess the risks to employees and take appropriate measures to prevent or reduce the risk. The HSWA applies to work-related acts of violence and aggression. Health and Safety Executive, along with local authorities, play a critical role in preventing violence in the workplace by regulating and enforcing health and safety legislation in Great Britain.

Other enforcing authorities, such as the police, are responsible for dealing with the criminal acts of serious assaults and for bringing the perpetrators to justice.