A correspondent criticised the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for not enforcing rules on health and safety malpractice on building sites and asked whether the Chamber of Architects felt the need to express itself on the matter.

I replied stating it did and that the Chamber of Architects agreed with Mepa's statement that it was not the authority which dealt with matters concerning safety.

I went on to state that the authority vested with such responsibility was the Occupational Health and Safety Authority. I never implied that the builder, architect and owner were in no way responsible.

I stated that "compliance with health and safety regulations is the remit of the health and safety authority". By no stretch of the imagination can this be interpreted as meaning that the OHSA alone should ensure that health and safety regulations are observed. I was only clarifying which authority had the responsibility of regulating construction activity with respect to health and safety.

The Chamber of Architects has always given its full support to the OHSA in its effort to raise awareness of - and compliance with - health and safety regulations including, as Mark Gauci of the OHSA correctly pointed out in his Talking Point, collaborating with the OHSA in organising a well-attended seminar for architects, and will not hesitate to do so in the future.