It's weird, the world in general is heading in this direction, just seems Britain has been at it for longer. I've always wondered why (saw it in the 70's, it's just gotten more "normal"). Seems the EU has a strong "safetyism" mindset.

In the US it seems to come from two directions: litigation when someone gets injured either by an indifferent company or the idiocy of an idiot not following safety protocols, the other being some parents fear everything and want to bubble wrap the world.

To paraphrase the sheriff in Cool Hand Luke:

"So you get what we have here today - kids who have no resilience, no ability to cope in the real world. Well, that's the way these parents want it, so they get it"

(in the movie, the sheriff is pointing out Luke's stubborn refusal to understand how things work, and that he has some culpability too).