Former occupational health tsar, Dame Carol Black, says she expects recommendations made by her occupational health taskforce to still emerge in a government White Paper.
Dame Carol was appointed by the Conservative government in February of last year.
An experienced health policy adviser, Dame Carol was charged with leading the taskforce whose aim was to improve employer awareness of the benefits of occupational health in the workplace as part of the then government’s drive to tackle in-work sicknesses and help grow the economy.
And speaking at an event organised by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) at their offices in London yesterday, Dame Carol revealed that the taskforce’s work was “not lost” in spite of the election of a new government.
“We got quite a long way and then we changed governments didn’t we?” Dame Carol said.
“I think probably the answer is sitting on a shelf somewhere in DWP [Department for Work and Pensions]. I think that is probably the accurate answer.
“What I understand from DWP is they are going to do a White Paper. They are going to do something in this space.
“So it’s not that it’s forgotten.”
But Dame Carol added that she would like the taskforce to be broadened as the country’s current problems with workplace inactivity cannot solved by just occupational health.
“You almost need a problem solving approach rather than just an occupational health approach,” Dame Carol said.
“You do need better occupational health.
“So it’s not forgotten and I think we’ll see it emerge in the White Paper.
“I think it would be useful in some form or other to finish that piece of work and we had a lot of good information and a lot of data.
“But it’s not lost.”