Baroness Judith Jolly, President of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, has stood down from her position after 5 years of loyal service.

The peer joined the health and safety charity in 2019, and has since played a pivotal role in furthering RoSPA’s mission of preventing accidents and saving lives.

Pushing for Safer Stairs

Playing a pivotal role in Westminster, Jolly used her position in the House of Lords to spread awareness of campaigns the charity was involved in. This included RoSPA’s call for ‘Safer Stairs’, which resulted in the government adopting British Standard 5395-1 into the Building Regulations, improving the safety of new build houses significantly.

Speaking on the success, Baroness Jolly said:

“We are delighted that the Government has now committed to a consultation on adopting British Standard 5395-1 into the Building Regulations. It has been a long campaign and we are incredibly grateful to all those people, businesses and organisations who have been involved. This excellent news follows many months of discussions with Ministers and Government and it is wonderful to see the efforts from all quarters coming to fruition.

“This is a real achievement for everyone involved – we hope this will save lives and make the homes of the future safer places to live. Thank you to all our supporters. Our work at RoSPA will continue on this life-saving initiative.”
 

Keeping safety laws intact

From hitting the ground running, the baroness helped rouse governmental colleagues by pointing out the flaws of the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which looked to remove hundreds of life-saving pieces of legislation from UK law.

Speaking in the House of Lords chamber, Baroness Jolly noted:

“It is no use “taking back control” if the way this Government choose to use their control is by bypassing proper parliamentary scrutiny and repealing thousands of laws, of which hundreds are life-saving safety laws, without any due process.

That is why I propose this amendment, which will require a health and safety impact assessment for each piece of EU-derived legislation set for revocation not less than 90 days prior to the intended date of revocation. Parliament deserves to see the truth about every law set to be repealed, so that we can make an informed decision about how to proceed. I am sure that plenty of revocations will pose no health and safety risk and that this House will be comfortable repealing many of these laws.
 

Helping to build RoSPA’s message overseas.

Further afield, Jolly also heavily contributed to developing RoSPA’s renowned Health and Safety Awards, helping expand awareness internationally, particularly in the Gulf region, assisting with the introduction of a Middle Eastern ceremony in Dubai, UAE.
 

A CEO Reflects

With a special relationship with members of the presidential team, Rebecca Hickman, RoSPA’s CEO knows more than most of the impact Baroness Jolly made within the charity and shared only positives words when reflecting on their journey together.

The CEO of RoSPA, Rebecca Hickman, said:

“Whilst we are sad to hear of Baroness Jolly’s departure, we are truly grateful for her service, commitment, and dedication to making the world a safer place for all. Through her Parliamentary rallying, her influence extended beyond words as her actions have led to tangible improvements in safety standards and practices.

“Her unwavering dedication to RoSPA and its mission has not only helped shape our organisation, but has also played a crucial role in saving lives, and we take this moment to appreciate the profound difference she has made. It is through leaders like Baroness Jolly that we can hope for a future where accidents are not just reduced but eradicated. We will continue to be inspired by her example and strive to uphold the values of safety and prevention that we collectively support.”

Becoming a life peer in 2011, Baroness Jolly focussed strongly on health care, taking up positions such as co-chair of the Health and Social Care Team within the Coalition government as well as government whip with responsibilities for Health, Defence, Culture Media & Sport, and Equalities. She also was entrusted with the position of Health Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords for three years from 2017.
 

RoSPA wishes Baroness Jolly endless success and happiness in her future outside of the charity, but hope to remain in close contact.