Safety Policy Group

Scope and purpose

Safety Policy Group (SPG) is a cross industry group which provides oversight of and governance for a number of key RSSB activities related to RSSB’s purpose. SPG’s purpose is to provide advice, make recommendations and to approve certain types of document for publication on behalf of the RSSB Board.

The Safety Policy Group is complementary to and operates in parallel with the Industry Standards Co-ordination Committee (ISCC) which deals with all issues relating to GB and European standards. SPG liaises with ISCC on all issues where there may be overlap in scope.

In particular, but without limitation, SPG oversees the following

• Development of the Strategic Safety Plan
• Coordination of industry responses to significant health and safety legislative proposals
• Safety Decisions Programme, including approval of publications
• Safety Management Systems Programme, including approval of publications
• Development and delivery of RSSB’s function to gather, analyse and report safety performance and risk information
• Strategic management issues arising from accident investigations
• Safety policy issues, including particular matters raised by the RSSB Board
• Coordination of industry input into the development and monitoring of the safety element of the Government High Level Output Specification.
• Coordination, within the constraints of the European framework, of industry input to the safety workstreams of the European Rail Agency ^{NOTE 1}
• RSSB research and development in the Safety Policy & Risk management, and occupational health topics, in its role as senior client group.

SPG is the parent body for and oversees the activities of the following stakeholder groups^{NOTE 2}

• Safety legislation committee
• Safety Risk Model Practitioners Working Group
• Precursor Indicator Model Practitioners Working Group
• Risk Management Forum steering group
• Forum of GB representatives to the ERA working groups for its safety workstreams (including CSM, CST, CSI, safety certification)

SPG has the authority to approve for publication documents in the following categories:

• R&D Topic Research Plans where SPG is the senior client group
• Guidance and case studies supplementing the ‘Taking Safe Decisions’ policy document
• Common Safety Processes where they fall within the competence of SPG
• Other categories from time to time delegated by the Board.

Where appropriate, SPG will agree remits for work to be done, and review the outcomes, but will not be involved in managing work.

Membership

Membership of SPG will consist of

• One member (two for Network Rail) for each RSSB constituency, nominated by the relevant Industry Director.
• One observer from each of DfT and ORR.
• Representatives from other bodies (such as High Speed 1), by SPG consensus.
• RSSB directors with direct responsibility for the activities that SPG supervises.
• A chairman nominated every two years from amongst the membership and endorsed by the RSSB Board.

Members may nominate alternates from within their constituencies, and be supported by observers to contribute to specific agenda items.

Members of SPG are expected to represent, to the best of their ability, the constituency that nominated them to participate in SPG. Where SPG is asked to approve anything for publication, members should ensure so far as they can that the documents are supported by their constituencies.

If the chairman is not an RSSB representative, then the constituency which the chairman represents will be invited to nominate a new representative.

Administration

RSSB will

• Call SPG meetings around eight times per year, between meetings of the RSSB Board
• Make papers available electronically five days before the meeting
• Produce minutes recording actions, and circulate them within seven days of the meeting
• Cause an annual review of the SPG remit and membership

SPG will report progress, key issues, documents approved and advice provided to RSSB to the RSSB Board quarterly or as otherwise dictated by the matters considered by the Group.

^{NOTE 1} Overseeing and encouraging coordination of industry inputs to ERA and representative bodies working groups includes reviewing and influencing membership of ERA and representative body work groups, highlighting to RSSB members and the RSSB Board where there are significant risks relating to ERA and EU outputs and recommending actions to mitigate those risks. SPG also facilitates working in conjunction with DfT and ORR representatives on ERA working groups to ensure they are properly briefed as to the industry position on key topics

^{NOTE 2} SPG remit supporting document contains remits for all these groups, as approved by SPG

The 2009/10 meeting dates for the RSSB Board have been agreed. During this period there will be six such meetings and it is proposed that SPG meetings should be held approximately two weeks prior to each of the Board meetings to enable SPG to finalise papers to the Board at the latest possible date. It is therefore proposed that SPG meetings be held on the following dates from January 2009 until March 2010:

• Tuesday 13 January 2009 (already agreed)
• Tuesday 3 March 2009
• Tuesday 28 April 2009
• Tuesday 30 June 2009
• Tuesday 25 August 2009
• Tuesday 27 October 2009
• Tuesday 15 December 2009
• Tuesday 23 February 2010