Keith Brown MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Clackmannanshire & Dunblane constituency, has highlighted a consultation launched by the Scottish Government on introducing a Scottish replacement for the UK Government’s Industrial Injuries Scheme.

Views are sought on how the Scottish Government’s planned Employment Injury Assistance should be delivered and on the next steps for introducing this benefit.

Speaking today, Keith said:

“This consultation is the first step in considering how we can deliver in Scotland a benefit to replace the Industrial Injuries Scheme that can better meet the needs of the modern workforce and be more reflective of occupational health and employment.

“Last week, at the International Workers Memorial Day wreath laying event in Alloa, I spoke of how our society today is much safer for workers than it was in times gone by.  But I also stressed that we have to keep it that way and that, as work practices change, we always have to be vigilant to ensure that safety is not lost.

“Remember the dead and fight for the living – that is the tagline of International Workers Memorial Day – and it is incredibly important that, as a society, we properly care for those injured or harmed in the workplace.

“The Industrial Injuries Scheme was introduced way back in 1948 and the workplace world has changed enormously in many different ways since those immediately post-war days.

“The outdated eligibility criteria for the Industrial Injuries Scheme does not take account of the injuries and illnesses that are most likely to affect people today. 

“So I am very pleased, on this 1^st of May, International Workers Day, to be highlighting this consultation, an important first step in the very welcome move to replace the UK Government’s Industrial Injuries Scheme with a modern alternative, designed for today’s world and delivered by the Scottish Government through Social Security Scotland.

“To ensure that Employment Injury Assistance properly reflects the needs of today’s workforce it is important a broad range of views is heard on the approach that should take to delivering it, and I would encourage individuals and stakeholders in my constituency to respond to the consultation.”