The traditional game of conkers has been targeted by over-officious rulings, David Cameron said Health and safety laws must be reformed to stop the growth of a “compensation culture” in the UK, a government-commissioned report is expected to say.
David Cameron has asked former cabinet minister Lord Young to carry out a review of current laws.
He has previously said that workers, including emergency services staff, are being prevented from doing their job by health and safety legislation.
But Labour insists reforms should not be based on “myth and exaggeration”.
Lord Young, who served as trade and industry secretary under Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was asked in June to carry out a survey of health and safety rules.
Many were “absolute nonsense”, he argued, meaning that safe work-related activities were often deemed by officials to be dangerous.
Restaurants had banned toothpicks on safety grounds and contestants in a pancake race had been told to walk, not run, because of rain, he added.
Speaking last year, Mr Cameron said the UK had become “saturated” by health and safety laws.
In recent years children had been told to wear goggles to play conkers and trainee hairdressers had been banned from using scissors, he added.
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