Shaping Health and Safety, 1800–2015

This chapter explores the historical development of health and safety since the nineteenth century, including substantial analysis of the otherwise much-neglected post-1960 period. This includes identifying a movement from detailed specifications about standards to more open-ended duties to be performed to safeguard people’s safety and health. In addition, analysis suggests that the location of debate about health and safety shifts from the workplace to a more diffuse and public arena, entering high politics and ‘public opinion’ as a concern. It also identifies gaps in historical study, notably around gender and newer forms of employment.