Professor John Uff's report into Southall published

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UK:
HSE statement welcomes Uff report

HSE : Thursday February 24, 2000

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today welcomed the inquiry report written by Professor John Uff, QC, on the rail accident at Southall in September 1997.
Jenny Bacon, Director General of the HSE said:
"HSE accepts the recommendations within its remit on improving the way in which the various enforcing authorities work together and we will, as a matter of priority, put together our action plan. This report gives all concerned in the industry including the regulators a clear blueprint for action. More generally the report highlights actions and improvements which HSE has been pursuing both before and since the Southall accident.

"All of us involved with the industry must do our utmost to learn from this report and prevent this type of accident happening again.

"The report highlights a number of remedial measures - for instance on maintenance practice, and on the operation of safety systems on board trains - which HSE will monitor closely to see that they are implemented quickly and effectively. Of equal concern to HSE are the more fundamental problems uncovered by the report. These include indications of a poor safety culture throughout the industry, the extent to which industry fragmentation continues to hinder safety issues - from the development of safety products to day-to-day communications on safety issues, and the underlying weaknesses that it highlights in the training and resourcing of maintenance crews. HSE will be following these up at a strategic and operational level with the companies involved."

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