VISIT BY U.K. MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY - DR. ALAN WHITEHAND, MP

The signing of a Twinning Covenant providing support for the implementation of Occupational Health & Safety Law in the pre-accession context will be the subject of a visit by UK Minister for Health & Safety Dr. Alan Whitehead, MP, who will be visiting Malta tomorrow.

For the first time technical assistance will be provided for Malta's occupational health and safety services by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after a successful bid for European funding. The project, which will be funded by the European Union for 12 months, is a joint venture between HSE and Ireland's Health and Safety Authority.

The project will provide assistance to the government of Malta on practical aspects of European health and safety law, and will also help raise awareness of hazards and risks in the workplace. The project represents also the first ever twinning agreement to be signed in Malta under the pre-accession funding programme of the EU.

The total cost of the project is 705,000 Euros (Lm 282,000), which is to be funded by the EU. This consists of a contribution of 340,000 Euros for institutional capacity building for the Occupational Health & Safety Authority, and a further contribution of 365,000 Euros for the purchase of Monitoring and IT Equipment and the setting-up of a Management Information System for Occupational Health & Safety.

Dr. Alan Whitehead, MP, will be accompanied by Mr Frank Cuneen, Chairman of Ireland’s Health & Safety Authority, Dr Peter Graham, UK Health & Safety Executive Board Member, Stuart Bullock, Pre-Accession Advisor to the Maltese Health & Safety Authority, Joan Borley, Twinning Agreement Project Leader and Jane Brophy, Project Co-ordinator for Ireland’s Health & Safety Authority.

Apart from signing the Twinning Agreement, the UK Delegation will hold talks with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Policy and perform workplace site visits.