Mission statement

The Mission of the Peter Le Marchant Trust is to fulfil dreams, by providing days of brightness and joy through day and holiday boating experiences for the ill and disabled. In doing so, it will work in partnership with individuals and organisations to inspire positive and responsible attitudes to health and safety, and to the environment.

Our vision

The Trust’s vision and ambition in regard to health and safety is to be exemplary. Considered amongst charities and similar organisations as ‘setting the standard’ and seen as ‘top of the league’ in health and safety matters, setting the bar high for itself, and continuously striving for improvement. The Trust will measure its progress towards this ambition on an ongoing basis, using feedback from external organisations such as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and other interested and knowledgeable bodies.

Health and safety policy and objectives

It is the policy of the Peter Le Marchant Trust to conduct its activities taking full account of the health and safety of its employees, volunteers, clients and all persons using the facilities or connected with the Trust. It will also ensure that the Trust gives proper and responsible regard to the protection of the environment. Our key objectives include:

• Achieving zero incidents. The Trust believes this to be achievable because it considers that all incidents and injuries can be prevented through diligence and exemplary safety behaviour;
• Ensuring the Skipper of each vessel is designated to take overall responsibility for the vessel, its crew, and passengers, however, each of the crew and volunteers are responsible for their own safety and the safety of those around them. They also understand the implications of their Health and Safety behaviour and how that behaviour influences the Trust’s health and safety performance, culture and ambitions;
• Endeavouring to fulfil the dreams of the ill and disabled in that we deliver a fun boating experience which is in a completely safe and secure environment; and
• Investing in actions contributing to developing its health and safety culture and performance as detailed in our health and safety Action Plan below.

Health and safety action plan

The Trusts health and safety action plan primarily includes:

Training

• Our crew and volunteers in all technical aspects of its activities, both land and boat based;
• Our crew and volunteers in behavioural safety to gain an understanding of their clients’ needs; and
• Ensuring the Trust will put health and safety FIRST in its activities. This message along with all aspects of health and safety policy and objectives will be communicated to all involved in the successful and safe running of the Trust’s activities.

Equipment and Assets

• Ensuring that all equipment, both land and boat based, are maintained and operated by competent personnel in full compliance with relevant legislation;
• Undertaking the assessment of risk to the health and safety of all who may be affected by its activities. It will identify hazards and assess risk on an ongoing basis and put in-place suitable and sufficient control measures necessary to minimise risk, so far as reasonably practicable; and
• Ensuring risk assessments are reviewed annually and/or when a change has been implemented to vessels, equipment or personnel. Risk assessment reviews will also be undertaken in the event of incident investigation, to ensure lessons learnt are incorporated into procedure; this is to avoid incident recurrence.

Reporting

• Ensuring all incidents will be reported, investigated and followed-up. Conclusions and lessons learned will be incorporated into training and risk assessment reviews;
• Ensuring all persons involved in the Trust’s activities will be encouraged to report all incidents even where no injury to persons or damage to equipment has resulted. These ‘near-miss’ incidents will be treated in the same way as injury or damage incidents; this again to avoid future recurrence where a different and more serious outcome may result; and
• We count on the active involvement and commitment to SAFETY of all persons involved with the Trust’s activities, to deliver its ambition to develop and improve our health and safety culture and performance, and in the protection of the environment.

To put it simply:

Safety is our FIRST priority; if an action cannot be performed safely, then it will NOT be performed

PDF of Health and Safety Policy