Asbestos inquiry leader appointed (From The Northern Echo)

Asbestos inquiry leader appointed

8:36am Thursday 8th November 2007 in

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THE leader of an inquiry into the asbestos scandal at a council has been appointed.

The investigation to establish why officers at Wear Valley District Council ignored an asbestos warning in 2001 will be led by an independent chairman.

Staff at the Woodhouse Close Leisure Complex, in Bishop Auckland, were allowed to work unprotected for more than five years, even though their bosses knew of the risk.

The council has been fined £18,000 by the Health and Safety Executive.

Inquiry chairman Peter Kemp is a retired council chief executive who previously worked at Durham County Council.

A Wear Valley District Council spokeswoman said: "The council has agreed to an inquiry into the events which led to the prosecution of the council by the Health and Safety Executive for asbestosrelated offences.

"Peter Kemp has extensive local government experience at a senior level.

"He is a retired local authority chief executive and a former advisor to the Association of District Councils and the Local Government Association.

"He has recent experience in chairing a local authority improvement board and numerous other public sector projects."

The rest of the inquiry panel will be made up by Wear Valley councillors Joe Buckham, Angela Bolam, Kenneth Bowser, Ron Grogan, Gary Henry, and Robert Yorke.

The panel will also feature a union representative.

The inquiry is expected to begin in the new year.