Monday 9 November 2009

An Englishman’s Home – No Longer His Castle…

..if these people get their way (Ed: link now dead, 'Mail' has pulled the story):
Family homes could be invaded by health and safety inspectors checking that parents are keeping their children safe.

Whitehall is recommending that inspectors make sure parents have fitted smoke alarms, stair gates, locks on medicine cupboards, windows and ovens, and temperature controls to stop bath water getting too hot.
Oh, just great

This is the most egregious use of the ‘For the children!’ argument since…well, since the last one. And what has prompted this (assuming it isn’t the simple lust for power)?

A million accidental injuries, it seems:
According to NICE - which is responsible for public health promotion as well as deciding which drugs the NHS may supply to patients - a million accidental injuries happen to children at home each year 'and many are preventable'.

Its draft guidelines call for inspections of home safety to be carried out by trained staff from the NHS or councils. Officials would identify homes where children are thought to be most at risk of accidents and 'offer home risk assessments'.
You know what they mean when they say ‘homes where children are thought to be most at risk of accidents’, don’t you?

No, they don’t mean the kind of ‘homes’ where the likes of Baby P met his sad end. They mean the kind of homes where otherwise law-abiding people can be bullied and threatened into letting them in and where they will meekly comply in an attempt to be ‘good citizens’ through fear of the consequences of not doing so.

And of course, this will mean more money thrown down the drain on IT, and more public sector workers suckling at the teat of the State:
There will be repeated return visits to check that parents have maintained their safety devices.

NICE has also called for a computer database to be set up to pick the homes and families who will be targeted for safety inspections.
Of course they do…

Still, the fearless campaigners for personal liberty will roundly condemn this, won’t they?

Oh:
Shami Chakrabarti, of Liberty, the human rights group, said: 'Why can't we have a public information campaign before we rush into creating databases and intrusion and introducing bureaucracy to the living room?'
/headdesk

Well, that’s telling them, Shami. Wow, they’ll be reeling at the ferocity of this defence of our rights, won’t they? Don't give yourself a nosebleed, sweetie...

Anyone else?
Simon Davies, of watchdog group Privacy International, said: 'The problem here is the additional powers that would go to government authorities.
No, that’s not really the problem here, is it, Simon?

The problem is that the State thinks it can take this kind of action at all, never mind what additional powers they’d need.
'Anybody who stands in the way of inspections will be considered suspect. This represents a landmark expansion of government intervention in home life. It must be regarded with great concern and suspicion.'
No. You are fundamentally wrong.

It must be resisted and fought with every last breath.

9 comments:

Brian, follower of Deornoth said...

I frequently indulge in exercise when at home; this exercise often involves Indian clubs. My house is also very small, and therefore there is a risk of an accident; public sector employees should undertake a risk assessment before entering.

Quiet_Man said...

Can't imagine why the Mail pulled this it would appear to be right down their authoritarian pseudo fascist street.
Unless of course the readers comments were seriously negative.

Can't even find a google cache for the article either.

Anonymous said...

Got it! http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=download&o=46008

Anonymous said...

Sorry. Link was broken. Try this one: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/Wave18/1

James Higham said...

I still feel crossbows mounted on the bannister is the answer.

Anonymous said...

I will of course let them in.

Although given the amount of lethal deathtraps around the house that my kids have learnt to navigate round, it is highly unlikely they will survive to the exit.

Just in case they do, I also have a baseball bat.

NickM said...

The same NICE that means we have a lower five year survival rate for breast cancer than Poland.

How NICE. Now fuck off.

JuliaM said...

"...public sector employees should undertake a risk assessment before entering."

That's the spirit!

"Can't imagine why the Mail pulled this it would appear to be right down their authoritarian pseudo fascist street."

Oh, it's back, as a tiny footnote to this incredible story...

"Sorry. Link was broken. Try this one: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/Wave18/1"

Well done!

"The same NICE that means we have a lower five year survival rate for breast cancer than Poland. "

That's the one. How misnamed...

Von Spreuth. said...

Know how I learned to stay away from the fire?

When I was 18 months old, I decided it would be a good idea to touch the copper front piece of the (lit and unguarded) coal fire.

Worked WONDERS. Never set fire to myself since.