An initiative’s been launched by the British Cleaning Council this week, in which I feel we should all become involved. In that, I mean I feel it’s worth emulating worldwide, since our very lives depend upon it. Yes - I realise everyone’s perception and treatment of those in our industry differs considerably from country to country, but the lessons learned during the pandemic need to be shared and acted upon globally, if we’re to make best use of them. We need to speak with one voice and share our expertise, if we’re to ensure that we can continue to help prevent the spread of infection in whatever form it may take in the future – and with it, help save lives. 

 

You will have read in these pages about the inquiry held last year by the All-Party Parliamentary Group, which looked into the role of cleaning & hygiene during the pandemic… effectively what worked and what didn’t, and how we should act in the future. It took evidence from the BCC, the Royal Society for Public Health and a number of experts, cleaning & hygiene clients and senior colleagues across the whole of our industry. You will also have read the important report that was subsequently published on the inquiry’s findings and which made solid recommendations. Sadly, this has attracted very little engagement from the majority of MPs, so now the BCC, backed by 23 Associations from across the cleaning, hygiene and waste sectors, is urging us to join a letter writing campaign to our MPs and sign a petition demanding that cleaning & hygiene be made a national priority. The report's recommendations, if implemented, will reflect a new national process and culture around cleaning & hygiene for the future, making us much more resilient to current common infections and also far better prepared for future public health emergencies, such as pandemics.  

 

We all need to play our part in this. If you’re in the UK I urge you to download and adapt the pre-written letter highlighting the issue and email it to your local MP, and also to sign the petition. Both call for the implementation of the report’s recommendations in full. And if you’re not in the UK, why not adapt the BCC’s letters and launch your own campaign to get your Government to take our industry and collective expertise, a lot more seriously? During the pandemic, my Government (and possibly yours, since they all seemed to be reading from the same script) kept saying: “We’re all in this together” and in this particular issue, I really believe we all should be. Further information, the letter for download and the link to the petition are at: https://britishcleaningcouncil.org/2023/02/06/download-letter-here/