About Us

Building Safer Communities – Unintentional Harm and Injury

We are focused on developing a co-ordinated and strategic approach to reducing Unintentional Harm and Injury, particularly among those groups who are most at risk. At a national level, this work is being progressed by the Unintentional Harm Executive Group, a partnership which is chaired by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Why are we doing this?

A Strategic Assessment of unintentional harm was published in April 2017. This was the first time that evidence from a range of data sources was brought together to provide a resource for policy makers and local practitioners. 

The Assessment illustrated that, for a largely preventable issue, unintentional harm and injury has a sizable impact on the population and public services in Scotland.

Our Executive Group

A number of partners are working together to reduce unintentional harm and injury in Scotland.

Ross Haggart

Ross Haggart

Assistant Chief Officer, Director Protection and Prevention

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Ross Haggart is Chair of the Unintentional Harm and Injury Executive Group and Assistant Chief Officer within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Ross is currently within the role of Director of Prevention and Protection. Ross has served with the Fire and Rescue Service for 24 years, joining the former Fife Fire and Rescue Service (FFRS) in 1994. He has worked in various community fire stations in operational roles, and within training and human resources in both the former FFRS, and Tayside Fire and Rescue, prior to the creation of the SFRS. When the SFRS was created in 2013 Ross was appointed into the role of Area Manager within the Prevention and Protection Directorate, before becoming the Local Senior Officer for the Clackmannanshire, Fife and Stirling local authority areas. Prior to moving into his current role, Ross was Deputy Assistant Chief Officer within the Service’s Strategic Planning, Performance and Communications Directorate. Within this role, he was responsible for strategic planning, performance management and the Service’s transformation programme.

Gordon Paterson

Gordon Paterson

Head of Building Safer Communities & Cashback

Scottish Government

Gordon has over 22 years’ experience working across Government including time spent in housing, regeneration and Safer Communities. In his present role he has oversight of the Scottish Governments Building Safer Communities ambition including the national programme to reduce Unintentional Harm in Scotland; and has a lead sponsorship role with national organisations including the Scottish Community Safety Network, Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, Crimestoppers, RoSPA and the Scottish Business Resilience Centre. Gordon also over sees the national Cashback for Communities programme that invests money raised through the proceeds of crime back into communities – a programme that over the last 11 years has seen over £100m committed into community initiatives, delivering nearly 2 million activities and opportunities for young people across all 32 local authorities in Scotland Based in Edinburgh, Gordon is married with three young children, and in his spare time is a keen cyclist and runner.

Elinor Findlay

Elinor Findlay

Deputy Head of Building Safer Communities

Scottish Government

Elinor is currently Deputy Head of the Building Safer Communities Team in the Scottish Government. The BSC team is focussed on ensuring people across Scotland are and feel safe in their communities, and works with a range of national safety partners including the Scottish Community Safety Network, Crimestoppers, Neighbourhood Watch, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, and the Child Accident Prevention Trust. Before joining the BSC team, Elinor worked as a social researcher for over 10 years holding posts in a range of areas, most latterly in the Office of the Chief Social Policy Adviser working with different teams across government on approaches to supporting communities and tackling inequalities

Hollie Gibson

Hollie Gibson

Policy Officer

Scottish Government

Hollie is a Policy Officer in the Building Safer Communities team at the Scottish Government, which is focussed on building safe and resilient communities throughout Scotland. Hollie’s particular policy focus is around reducing Unintentional Harm and Injury, which is part of a national partnership programme of work. Prior to joining the Scottish Government and after graduating from the University of Dundee, Hollie started out her civil service career in the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, working in a variety of operational and corporate roles in the organisation.

Liz Lumsden

Liz Lumsden

Community Safety Manager

RoSPA

Liz Lumsden is Community Safety Manager for RoSPA in Scotland and is now in her 25th year with the charity. She also provides the Secretariat to the Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness. Liz holds a Master’s Degree in Injury Prevention and Safety promotion from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

Lorraine Gillies

Lorraine Gillies

Chief Officer

Scottish Community Safety Network

Before her role at the Scottish Community Safety Network, Lorraine was a senior manager at Audit Scotland and Community Planning and Development Manager at West Lothian Council. She is a board member of Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, a trustee for RED - Ready for Development and Learning and is the Chair of Home Safety Scotland. When she isn’t working she likes to travel, bake cakes and then walk them off with her dogs.

Ann Murray

Ann Murray

Project Lead

Falls Integrated Response and Support Technology (FIRST) Project

Ann is currently based at the University of Strathclyde and is leading the Scottish Government’s Technology Enabled Care Programme ‘FIRST’ project. The project focuses on providing the right care and support at the time of the fall. Between 2010 and 2018 Ann was the lead for Scottish Government’s Falls Programme.

Phil Mackie

Phil Mackie

Lead Consultant in Public Health, Scottish Public Health Network Head of Knowledge & Research Services

Public Health Sciences NHS Health Scotland

Phil currently leads the Scottish Public Health Network, a virtual organisation that links together NHS Health Boards and public health functions across Scotland, and Head of Knowledge and Research Services for Health Scotland. He is also Co-Chair of the Scottish Managed Sustainable Health Network – which brings together agencies across Scotland working to achieve meaningful environmental sustainability and climate change action which brings human health co-benefits. He holds an honorary appointment at the University of Edinburgh and formerly held academic posts in Paediatric Epidemiology and Behavioural and Decision Sciences.

Mike Callaghan

Mike Callaghan

Policy Manager

COSLA

Mike Callaghan is a Policy Manager with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and covers the justice, community safety and resilience portfolios. Previously Mike has worked for 4 local authorities as well as on short secondments with the Scottish Government and Japanese Government.