RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
September 17, 2001
SAFER DESIGN WILL REDUCE ACCIDENT TOLL IN HOMES - RoSPA
Builders and developers will be urged to design homes with safety in mind at a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents congress in November.
RoSPA’s national home safety congress, Safety by Design, will be held at the Moat House Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, November 12-13.
Every day, ten people are killed in the UK as a result of a home accident and more than 8,000 seek medical assistance.
Sarah Colles, RoSPA Home Safety Adviser, said: “One of the ways to reduce the high number of deaths and injuries is to make the home a safer environment.
“This year’s congress has been designed to look at innovative ways in which homes can be made safe from the start.
“Safety needs to be properly integrated from the drawing board stage. Major improvements can also be made to homes when they are refurbished, either through simple adaptations or introducing safety equipment. Designing products with safety in mind is also important.”
Subjects covered will include: Domestic smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, design of stairs, home zones and product safety.
A number of workshops will also be on offer, giving home safety professionals the opportunity to share ideas and experience.
Melanie Johnson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Competition, Consumers and Markets, will be speaking about the Government’s Modernisation Fund.
Details of the fund, which were unveiled earlier this year, include a £30 million package to be spent on consumer protection over the next three years.
More than £600,000 has recently been shared between 12 new projects across the UK, many of the projects will be dedicated to making the home environment safer. RoSPA will administer the grants.
For more information on the congress, sponsored by William Levene, manufacturers of the Culinare SafetyCan, contact RoSPA on 0121 248 2000, or visit the website: www.rospa.com
