Contribution by: Kerry Davies

Comment by: Kerry Davies

Focus area: Volunteer events

Regulator concerned: My comments are general and do not relate to a particular regulator or regulatory function

Comment:
I have been involved professionally and as a volunteer on community led events for many years all over southern Britain and the one constant in regulatory oversight has been inconstancy.
From one Local Authority to the neighbouring one there is no reliable guide as to what level or competence regulatory enforcement will be. Most LA’s seem to have adopted the “ignore it whenever possible” approach and some of the sights on community events have been horrific.
On one event site I followed an EHO who signed off the licence as satisfactory and then pointed out 47 separate possible causes of serious injury.fatality to the LA manager in charge of the site. This was not that extraordinary.
I seem to remember an initiative to train all EHO’s and Licensing Officers which appears to have been quietly forgotten. What, if anything, is being done to level the playing field and ensure that enforcing officers have the time, budget and expertise on events to regulate or enforce safety on community led events?