In addition to health and safety law, some events may also require licenses from local authorities. You can get advice on Licensing from your local council and/or the Department of Culture, Media and Sport / Scottish Government, who are responsible for developing entertainment Licensing law, which is administered by Licensing authorities. Find out more at:
Find out how to plan a small party and what information your council will need to know by going to Directgov.
There are many activities at events that fall outside HSE’s areas of responsibility. These include the provision of toilets and medical care for the audience, a wholesome water supply, food safety, lost persons, child protection and pollution control, plus many equality issues. These matters are covered by powers held by other national or local government bodies.
Find out more:
'The Events Industry Forum is currently writing updated industry guidance about these matters. Until then, details about medical and toilet provision for an audience and children at events can be found in HSE's HS(G)195.
The erection of some temporary demountable structures at entertainment events falls within the definition of ‘construction work’ in regulation 2(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM).
However, HSE policy is that the CDM Regulations do not provide a useful regulatory framework for temporary structures used in the entertainment industry. This is because the CDM Regulations were specifically drafted for the procurement and delivery of projects in the construction industry. The processes and management arrangements in the entertainment industry can be significantly different.
Instead, organisers and their contactors should focus on compliance with The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 and other relevant regulations (eg Work at Height Regulations 2005).
Local authorities are generally responsible for enforcing health and safety legislation at events. Where an event is actually organised by a local authority, HSE is normally responsible for enforcement.
HSE has enforcement responsibility for the following activities at all events:
In certain circumstances, arrangements can be made to transfer enforcement responsibilities between HSE and local authorities.
HSE's Enforcement Policy Statement sets out the principles which HSE inspectors and local authority environmental health officers should follow when making enforcement decisions. In particular, any action taken by regulators should be proportionate to the risk.
Local authorities can call their Safety Advisory Groups (SAG) by different names, for example in Scotland they are known as Event Planning and Operations Groups. These are non-statutory groups of multi-agency representatives formed to promote safety at public events.
Typically, local authority SAGs exist to:
The events industry, via the Events Industry Forum (EIF), intends to publish a comprehensive guide on staging events, which will include sections on health and safety.
HSE has agreed to provide the EIF and their associate members with text relating specifically to health and safety for this industry guide. Once the EIF produces a draft, HSE will look at the practicalities of endorsing the sections on health and safety.
Until the new industry guidance is written, HS(G)195 remains available.
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