As a response to the identification of the Indian variant in small clusters around the UK, the government is working with relevant local councils on surge testing, and to support these efforts the Health & Safety Executive is speaking directly to businesses during spot checks.

The HSE is therefore carrying out increased spot checks and inspections in areas where transmission rates are rising, to help arrest the spread of the new variant.

All operational staff should therefore be alert to the potential for increased spot checks by the HSE at their site. Whilst Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside have previously been identified as areas with spikes in cases, the latest data shows numbers are rising in many regions across the UK so checks may not be limited to these areas.

If you have any questions or concerns please speak to the Health & Safety team. Further information on spot checks and inspections is available on the HSE website.

Reminder: COVID Site Coordinator Checklist – please complete in Q2.

If you haven’t already done so, please can we remind all sites to verify the CEMEX COVID Protocols remain in place by completing at least one additional documented check of compliance this quarter, using the global standard checklist in INTELEX before the end of June.