Minister backs Asthma UK's workplace initiatives
30 June 2006

The Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, Jim Murphy MP, has spoken in support of Asthma UK’s Workplace Charter in a Parliamentary seminar on how the Department for Work and Pensions’ recent Green Paper may improve the health and safety of the 4.1 million adults in the UK with asthma.

Attending the All Party Parliamentary Group on Asthma’s seminar, the Minister (pictured) joined the Group’s Chair, Dr Howard Stoate MP, the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Director of Disease Reduction Division, the Institute of Directors’ Head of Health, Environment and Transport Policy, and Asthma UK’s Assistant Director for Policy and Public Affairs to discuss the important topic of asthma in the workplace.

Every year in the UK up to 3,000 people develop asthma because they are exposed to dangerous substances at work and asthma at work accounts for at least 12.7 million workdays lost each year. Further to this, Asthma UK’s research suggests that 40% of employees with asthma find that work can aggravate their asthma.

The Minister stressed that the specific needs of people with fluctuating conditions, such as asthma, will be effectively addressed through the Government’s measures. These involve more frequent medical assessments and more structured career advice for people seeking to return to work.

He also welcomed useful initiatives, such as Asthma UK’s Asthma at Work – Your Charter, which was developed in partnership with employers, trade unions and the HSE to reduce the impact of asthma in the workplace. The Charter sets out recommendations and provides instructions on what to do if someone is having an attack, and guidelines for employers on making the work environment an asthma-friendly zone. It also helps to achieve the HSE’s aim to reduce the number of cases of occupation-induced asthma by 30% by 2010.

'Up to now, health and safety at work has been about stopping bad things from happening,' commented Martin Dockrell, Asthma UK's Assistant Director, Policy & Public Affairs. 'But since the Government published the green paper it has also become about making good things happen. It has been about making workplaces safe and welcoming to people with long-term conditions like asthma. That's what Asthma UK's workplace charter is about.'

Asthma UK is keen to extend the reach of the Charter and has recently gained new partners - the Body Shop, the Royal Environmental Health Institute in Scotland and Islington Council.