Secretary of state for work and pensions to speak at Health and Safety Conference

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton MP, will address the Institution of Occupational Safety and Healthís (IOSH) annual conference on Tuesday March 27 2007 at The International Centre, Telford, Shropshire.

IOSH is Europeís leading professional occupational health and safety organisation with almost 30,000 members. This yearís conference, ëHealth and safety: the changing world of workí, will focus on the issues thrown up by new working practices, social trends and emerging hazards and how the health and safety profession can best respond to them.

In addition to key note speaker John Hutton MP, there will be plenary addresses from Geoffrey Podger, chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Professor Dame Carol Black, national director for Health and Work, Department for Work and Pensions and Dr Janet Asherson, head of health and safety, CBI and member of the European Commission Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work.

The conference will examine how organisations can achieve tangible benefits in terms of fewer accidents, less sickness absence, smaller insurance premiums, improved employee relations and a safer, healthier workforce.

There will be nine plenary sessions, six conference tracks and over 40 presentations to choose from, including a wealth of case studies from leading organisations including the Olympic Delivery Authority and British Nuclear Group.