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WHAT IS IT?
The Council was set up in 1931 with aims and objectives which are still valid and essential today - to co-ordinate and stimulate accident prevention in all facets of daily life. Over the years it has responded to the significant changes of lifestyle and technology, and has recently revised its constitution to try to achieve the most effective means of pursuing its objectives.
WHO MAKE IT UP?
Membership is widely drawn from organisations and bodies throughout Scotland who have an involvement in matters affecting safety. The Council consists of representatives from Local Authorities, including Police, Fire Services, Education, Social Work and Roads Departments; Health Boards, Housing Associations, Motoring Organisations, and voluntary and professional bodies are also included in its membership.
The Council is allied to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and, in a unique partnership, the full-time staff in RoSPA’s Scottish Office provides the Secretariat and administrative support to the Council.
WHY IS IT NEEDED?
Each of the organisations represented on the Council has an involvement in safety to varying degrees. Collectively, the combination of local authority elected members and officials, professional bodies and dedicated voluntary groups has an outstanding range of administrative and technical experience.
The principal role of the Council is to bring together all of these interests in a way that is not possible in any other forum. By sharing the problems and learning from the contributions of its members, the Council is in a special position to identify trends in accidents in Scotland and, more importantly, to concentrate the combined weight of its membership towards achieving practical solutions.
Accidents occur in a moment, and are usually avoidable. The cost in human terms is not acceptable in a developed civilisation such as ours. The pain to the individual, the effect on the family (especially if the main bread-winner is the victim), the curtailment of the future lives of young victims, the burden on our hospital services, and the economic loss through absence from work, are each in themselves sufficient to justify the strongest action. Taken together there is no doubt that the fullest effort must be applied to reducing such an unnecessary toll as occurs in Scotland.
HOW DOES IT OPERATE?
The Council holds its Annual General Meeting for all members in October each year. This meeting may consider any matter appropriate to the prevention of accidents. The detailed business of the Council is carried out through three standing committees, acting with delegated powers in the following fields:-
Each Committee is charged with formulating policy, making representation on safety matters at national and local level, developing promotional and educational campaigns, and seeking to maintain public awareness of the effects of accidents at all levels and in all activities.
The principal avenues are through:-
In addition, representatives from the Council serve on the National (UK) Home Safety, Road Safety, and Water & Leisure Safety Committees.
An important function is the development of projects, seminars and other activities on specific topics, in which members of the Council and other interest bodies can come together. An Annual Conference is held, which not only permits speakers to address delegates, but also affords a valuable opportunity for them to exchange views from amongst the widest possible range of participants.
IS THERE A NEED FOR IT?
The breadth of involvement by members of the Council is difficult to match in any other context. If there is any doubt whether or not they have a problem to attack it is easily demonstrated by a few statistics for Scotland.
In 2003, 332 people died in road accidents, and a further 19,000 were injured. It is estimated that each fatal road accident now costs about £1.1 million. 232 people died following an accident in their own homes in 2002 and an estimated 270,000 injuries were dealt with by Scottish hospitals. Drowning also claimed 69 lives in Scotland in 2002.
A large proportion of these accidents happen in the vulnerable age groups - the very young and the very old. Does this equate with our claim to be a caring society?
The accident rates are consistently much higher in Scotland than in other parts of the United Kingdom - in some categories twice the level.
With statistics like these, there is an obvious need for a body such as the Scottish Accident Prevention Council.