Lord Hunt, Minister for Health and Safety, visited Trewern Adventure Activity Centre near Hay-on-Wye and went caving with the centre’s leader, Juliet Parker-Smith on Wednesday, 23 August 2006.

 30 August 2006

Health And Safety Minister Lord Hunt goes caving

Lord Hunt, Minister for Health and Safety, visited Trewern Adventure Activity Centre near Hay-on-Wye and went caving with the centre’s leader, Juliet Parker-Smith on Wednesday, 23 August 2006.

After the visit Lord Hunt said:
“I have taken a close personal interest in the adventure activity sector in trying to understand their concerns about the Work at Height Regulations. Out of that has come this terrific opportunity to see caving at first hand. I am very grateful to Juliet and her team for this opportunity and very much enjoyed getting a better understanding of how risks are managed in such a challenging environment.

Lord Hunt continued:
“On 22nd August the Health and Safety Commission launched its principles of risk assessment - setting out clearly and simply what risk management is and is not about. I’m sure they will be of great help to people organising and taking part in outdoor activities like caving or climbing. We all know that adventure comes with risks – you can’t have endeavour without it. And we equally know that we can’t take away all the risks that arise from activities like climbing or caving – but we can manage them. These activities have strong educational value and, provided they are well planned and properly and safely managed, we should be encouraging our children to take part and enjoy the experience they offer.'

Juliet Parker-Smith added:
“I am delighted that Lord Hunt could take the time to see for himself at first hand the way professional adventure activity providers manage risks.”

Photographs of Lord Hunt’s visit are available at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/images/lhcave1.jpg [Lord Hunt and PS Maxine Thompson]
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/images/lhcave2.jpg [Lord Hunt, Juliet Parker-Smith, Maxine Thompson]
http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/images/lhcave3.jpg [Lord Hunt, Maxine Thompson]