Ms Patricia King:

The Deputy raised two points. Social distancing is hugely important to ensuring that we are part of the defence against the virus. There are exceptional cases of what is described as "close working". In those circumstances PPE must be in place. Close working cannot happen otherwise. That is very clearly stated in the protocol. Members might notice that the protocol uses the word "must" - not "should" or anything else - and that is for a very good reason.

The second point is that the worker representation infrastructure on the ground is more than the health and safety representatives. They will play a role as well, but the idea behind it is that there would be a worker representative, alongside a management representative every day. They should be easily identifiable and they should be known to be the anti-Covid person. Their job is to go around and ensure that all the measures are being implemented, and they must do that two, three or four times a day if that is required. They should have regular audits, daily if necessary, but certainly twice weekly with senior management to ensure that people are satisfied that this is happening on the ground. The representatives must be afforded the respect and support of the employers and workers because they have a very key role. That is the point that I had in mind when we suggested this should happen. If that infrastructure is respected and it works, then we have a much better chance of ensuring that all those measures are in place on the ground. That was the overall objective of putting the system in place.

It is not just about having the stripes on the ground and the queueing pieces and so on; it is making sure the infrastructure is respected and works all day, every day to make sure that we give every workplace a chance to be safe.