Health and safety issues have been hitting the headlines this year. The Paddington and Southall rail inquiries have sparked much interest, and corporate manslaughter is set to become a legal reality. John Prescott, deputy prime minister and secretary of state for environment, transport and the regions, has presented a strategy statement entitled `Revitalizing health and safety,' which calls for a decrease in the number of serious and fatal accidents in the workplace and the development of a good health and safety culture in the UK.