RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

January 10, 2008
PARLIAMENTARY GROUP TO CHAMPION ACCIDENT PREVENTION

A new all-party parliamentary group has been formed to champion the cause of accident prevention.

Its aim is to provide a voice for the relatives of the 12,000 people killed in accidents in the UK each year and millions more who suffer injuries.

Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen has been elected chairman, and has written to the Prime Minister seeking the appointment of a minister with responsibility for accident prevention.

Baroness Gibson said: “Many people do not understand the scale of the accident problem and the impact it has on families and society as a whole. My father was killed in a road accident and I know it can take years to cope with such a devastating event.”

She said the current government approach was fragmented with one department dealing with workplace accidents, another responsible for road safety and very little being done to prevent home accidents, which lead to nearly 4,000 deaths and 2.7million injuries each year. There was a need to unite the different elements under central government leadership.

Baroness Gibson, who is President of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “No one in Whitehall or Westminster is looking at the whole picture as a problem which the Government should be addressing.

“The all-party parliamentary group will carry out a hugely important role by focusing on all accident prevention issues, lobbying and campaigning for change where necessary.”

Vice-chairmen will be Lord Brougham and Vaux, Baroness Masham of Ilton and Mark Hunter, MP for Cheadle. The secretary will be Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield, with David Drew, MP for Stroud, as treasurer. RoSPA will provide the secretariat for the group.