Introduction

This document has been produced to assist with the health and safety planning and considerations for events.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on considerations when arranging public events, no matter the size of the event itself. Although some guidance may be aimed towards larger events, all guidance should be considered and scaled accordingly.

This document has been produced using the guidance within The Purple Guide to Health, Safety, and Welfare at Music and Other Events – the industry standard for the management of Health and Safety at Events.

The Purple Guide to Health, Safety, and Welfare at Music and Other Events has replaced the original “Purple Guide” (HSG195), which was originally published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This document is not designed to replace risk assessments and thorough planning and is to be used in conjunction with existing documentation, e.g., an Event Safety Plan (see Appendix 2) and risk assessments, to ensure that the event is planned and managed with health, safety, and welfare in mind.

Following the guidance within this document will help to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation and good practice, as well as other legislation and good practice across the industry. 

An Event Notification Form should be submitted for review by the Safety Advisory Group at least 3 months before the event.

Please Note: While the document contains considerations that will help with complying with health, safety, and other legislation, it does not necessarily cover everything organisers need to do for a particular event.

Acronyms

• HSE – Health and Safety Executive
• HASAWA – Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
• Purple Guide - The Purple Guide to Health, Safety, and Welfare at Music and Other Events
• SFARP – So far as is reasonably practicable

Applicable Legislation and Guidance

• The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events (The Purple Guide)
• The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide)
• Guidance on Running Events Safely (HSE)
• Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Occupiers Liability Act 1957
• Occupier Liability Act 1984
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• Licensing Act 2003
• Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015
• Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002
• Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks: Guidance on Safe Practice (HSG175)
• MUTA / Performance Textiles Association
• Amusement Device Safety Council / ADIPS Ride Inspection Scheme
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Event Hazzard Scoping Assessment

When planning an event, ensure that the Event Hazard Scoping Assessment (Appendix 1) has been completed. This will provide an overall risk rating for the event and will provide focus areas for the implementation of controls.

Event Health and Safety Organisational Structure

The “Purple Guide” recommends the following structure for managing health and safety at the event – this can be scaled up or down depending on the event requirements, with one person taking on multiple roles as necessary.

The Event Organiser has overall responsibility for managing the health and safety of an event but may receive additional support, advice, and guidance from:

• Safety Advisors,
• Site teams,
• Operations teams,
• Production teams and
• Medical Emergency Response teams.

Each of these teams should individually manage their own health and safety for their activities, but the Event Organiser must be aware of the processes and procedures in place, and ensure they are being followed.

Knowing the Event

Consideration must be given to:

Location (Venue and/or site)

What specific hazards does the location of the event present? E.g., cobblestones, overhead hazards, bodies of water etc.

Event Activities

What activities will be included within the event? E.g., fireworks, parades, food and drink vendors, sound stages, temporary structures, animals, and livestock etc. What is the event history? Has the event been held at this location previously? Were any issues identified?

Audience Profile

What kind of people will the event attract? What are the additional hazards brought by these people? Has the age profile of attendees been considered, e.g., children?

Crowd Numbers

How many attendees are to be expected/anticipated? Is the venue of a sufficient enough size to accommodate these numbers? Are additional facilities required i.e., toilets etc.? Will the crowd be static, or likely to move, e.g., dancing/swaying, multiple stages/points of interest etc.? How will attendee numbers be controlled? Will the event be ticketed, or public access? Will it be advertised on social media?

Length and Timing of Event

How long is the event scheduled to go on for? What time of day is it being held? What time of year? Are there any other events that may impact this event, such as protests? Have contingencies for weather been considered, e.g., inclement weather and gusts of wind? How will this be monitored?

Access and Egress

How will people get to, and leave, the event? Where are the potential pinch points? Are there enough routes in and out of the event area for use in the event of an emergency? Is there an adequate parking provision in place? How will the surrounding highways be impacted? Is a security presence required, e.g., stewarding, barriers, vehicle barriers? Is access and egress suitable for disabled persons, e.g., a designated drop-off and collection point?

Infrastructure 

Is the existing infrastructure well-maintained and capable of use for the event? E.g., if electricity is being provided, is there a valid fixed wire test? PAT test etc.? Are additional (portable) toilets required? Will generators be required? Is there adequate water supply? Are additional waste receptacles required? Can emergency vehicles, traders, and waste collection access the site?

General

Things to consider when selecting a site for an event:

• Available space
• Viewing space
• Traffic and pedestrian routes
• Ground conditions
• Position and proximity of noise sensitive buildings
• Geographical location
• Topography
• Location and availability of services.

Capacity

Calculations used are taken from The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide). Emergency exit calculations need to be included when determining crowd capacity. Remove the largest exit and include within the calculations. You also need to consider the space taken up by stalls and other infrastructure. There are two calculations to be made and once confirmed, use the lesser value of the two.

1. Area of event space / 0.5 (or the number of people per m²)
2. Calculations based on exit widths:
   • Total Exit Widths (m) (TEW) x Flow Rate (FR) x Exit Time (ET) = Capacity (C) (before including infrastructure and removing exits due to fire)

Flow Rates

The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide) indicates that the following number of people should be able to safely evacuate from an event space within one minute, per meter of different exit types. This also takes into consideration whether alcohol has been consumed, whether the exits are level, or whether steps are present.

• 82 people per minute through 1m of a level exit.
• 72 people per minute through 1m of a level exit, with alcohol consumption.
• 66 people per minute through 1m of a stepped exit. 66 is the upper limit.
• 56 people per minute through 1m of a stepped exit, with alcohol consumption.

Exit Times

The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide) indicates that the following amount of time that will be required to evacuate an area, depending on the level of risk and reason for evacuation:

• Low risk = 10 minutes
• Medium risk = 8 minutes
• High risk = 6 minutes

Example

As an example, an event space may have a Total Exit Width (TEW) of 20m over 5 exits; all exits are 4m wide. The exits are level and there has been no alcohol consumed, allowing for a Flow Rate of 82 people per minute. The reason for attendees leaving is that the event has ended, or a low risk, which allows for an exit time of 10 minutes. The calculation for this will look like: 20 x 82 x 10, giving you a maximum capacity of 16,400 people.

However, when the largest exit is removed, e.g. 4m, there are steps to navigate, alcohol has been consumed and there is a high risk event that requires the area to be evacuated, e.g. an emergency, the calculation becomes 16 x 56 x 6, giving a maximum capacity of 5376 people for the same event space.

Compare this total against the total of Area of event space, divided by 0.5 (or the number of people per m²), and the lower number is the maximum capacity.

Please Note: The capacity calculation formula is included for information only. This will need to be reviewed by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) team for inclusion within the Event Safety Plan.

Licensing

For events including (but not limited to) any of the activities listed below, liaise with licensing@buckinghamshire.gov.uk for advice on licensing requirements.

• Sale of alcohol
• Entertainment
• Late night refreshments
• Animals

Local Authority and Emergency Services

• Liaise with the Safety Advisory Group to discuss arrangements and requirements for events within Local Authority boundaries.
• Under the Management of Health and Safety Regulations, it is a requirement to consult with external services, such as first aid, medical and rescue services.
• Ensure safety management systems, plans and drawings are available for review as this may have an impact on the Licensing applications and local fire rescue services

Safety Advisory Group (SAG)

Identify key stakeholders and include them within decision making processes. This should include Local Authorities and Emergency Services, depending on the size of the event – this will be determined by a risk assessment and Event Safety Plan. SAG can be contacted at environmentalhealth@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Non-Council-Led Events

For any event where a member of the public is the Event Organiser and the event will be held within Council-owned land or properties, the event must be given a Hazard Rating using the Event Scoping Risk Assessment (see Appendix 1) and sent to the SAG for discussion.

The Event Organiser will be required to provide the same documentation as described within this guide – failure to produce or provide this information may result in delays to the event.

Please Note: It is not the role of the SAG to approve or prohibit events from taking place. The purpose is to provide advice to the Event Organiser, who retains legal responsibility for ensuring a safe event.

Risk assessments are legally required to be conducted prior to the event in order to identify potential hazards and suitable control measures to mitigate the risks.

Risk assessments (Appendix 2) should be completed by a competent person with the necessary combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge of managing health and safety for events, e.g. the event organiser, third party consultant etc., and you should seek assistance if you come across something you’re not sure of.

Buckinghamshire Council uses a 5 x 5 grid to calculate risk, based on the severity and likelihood of harm occurring. More information on risk assessment can be found within the Risk Assessment Guide.

5 steps to carrying out a risk assessment

• List / identify the hazards
• Identify who might be harmed and how
• Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
• Record your findings and implement them
• Review your assessment and update if necessary

Controlling Hazards

• Eliminate the hazard
• Reduce the impact
• Isolate the hazard
• Control the hazard
• PPE
• Discipline

It is good practice to have the risk assessments reviewed by a competent Health and Safety professional before the event as some hazards may go unnoticed but may have severe consequences if control measures are not implemented. These risk assessments must be reviewed no later than two weeks before the event, with the final version completed one week before the event.

Ensure that a competent ‘Safety Co-ordinator’ with the necessary combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge of managing health and safety for events is selected to help with managing the health and safety for the event. They will also be able to provide technical/specialist advice where required.

Key findings should be shared between all interested parties.

Please Note: It is important to note that any reasonably foreseeable risk needs to be identified and recorded within the risk assessment - even if there is little or nothing that can be further done to mitigate the risk.

Control measures must be realistic, proportionate and reasonably practicable, e.g., it would not be reasonably practicable to provide the entirety of an outdoor event with cover in poor weather, but it would be reasonably practicable to advise all attendees to wear clothing appropriate for the elements.

An Event Notification Form should be submitted for review by the Safety Advisory Group at least 3 months before the event.

Ensure that appropriate management arrangements are in place to suitably manage the Planning, Load-In, the Event itself and Load Out. It is also useful to hold a Debrief following the event to obtain notes and findings from key persons.

Planning Phase

• Select competent workers and contractors.
• For events falling under the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015, appoint the relevant persons.
  • Where the Event Organiser is appointing others, this must be confirmed and recorded.
  • Ensure a construction phase plan (CPP) is completed.

Load-in Phase

• Plan for the safe delivery and installation of equipment and services.
• Hold a pre-event briefing for all interested parties – SAG may decide
• SAG may decide to inspect the event site and arrangements prior to the event.

Event Phase

• Ensure crowd management strategies are working correctly.
• Deal with fire, first aid contingencies, and major incidents.
• Plan for the servicing of facilities and supporting services.

Load-out Phase

• Plan for the safe removal of structures, equipment, and services, including removal of waste.
• Pay close attention to contractors during this phase as focus may slip.

Debrief

• Obtain information from key personnel to determine performance and identify any ‘lessons learned’ for future events.

Ensure that competent and reliable contractors are selected. Where possible, select contractors that have worked similar events in the past.

Requirements for contractors operating at the event:

• Provide training certificates and/or evidence of competency, where applicable.
• Licences relating to their work activities.
• Risk assessments and method statements / safe systems of work (SSOWs) for their activities.
• Sufficient staffing levels.
• Public Liability Insurance of at least £10 million – a copy of the insurance certificate to be held on file.

Consider whether additional monitoring and/or supervision is required, particularly during the Load-Out phase.

Subcontractors 

Buckinghamshire Council requires that all subcontractors submit the same information as contractors, and it is the Event Organiser’s responsibility to ensure that this information is obtained.

Although the contractor has a responsibility to ensure that any subcontractors used are sufficiently trained and have the relevant licences and documentation, the ultimate responsibility remains with the event organiser in the event of an incident – for this reason, you may wish to consider whether you will allow contractors to subcontract the work to others. Any stipulations such as this must be documented and signed by the contractor.

Client

Description: Individual or organisation for whom a construction project is carried out.

Summary: Make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including ensuring that

• other duty holders are appointed;
• sufficient time and resources are allocated;
• relevant information is prepared and provided to other duty holders;
• the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor carry out their duties;
• welfare facilities are provided.

Designer

Description: Those that prepare or modify designs for a building, product, or system relating to construction work.

Summary: When preparing or modifying designs, to eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks that

• may arise during:
• construction; and
• the maintenance and use of a building once it is built.
• Provide information to other members of the project team to help them fulfill their duties.

Principle Designer

Description: Designers appointed by the Client in projects involving more than one contractor. Can be an organisation or individual with sufficient knowledge, experience, and ability to carry out the role.

Summary: Plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase of a project. This includes

• identifying, eliminating, or controlling foreseeable risks;
• ensuring designers carry out their duties.
• Prepare and provide relevant information to the Principal Contractor to help them plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate health and safety in the construction phase.

Principal Contractor

Description: Contractors appointed by the Client to coordinate the construction phase where it involves more than one contractor.

Summary: Plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate health and safety in the construction phase of a project. This includes:

• Liaising with the Client and Principal Designer;
• Preparing the Construction Phase Plan (CPP);
• Organising cooperation between contractors and coordinating their work.
• Ensuring suitable site inductions are provided;
• Ensuring reasonable steps are taken to prevent unauthorised access;
• Ensuring workers are consulted and engaged in securing their health and safety; and
• Ensuring welfare facilities are provided.

Contractor 

Description: Those who do the actual construction work and can be either an individual or a company.

Summary: Plan, manage and monitor construction work under their control so that it is carried out without risks to health and safety. For projects involving more than one contractor, coordinate their activities with others in the project team – in particular, comply with directions given to them by the Principal Designer or Principal Contractor. For single-contractor projects, prepare a construction phase plan.

Worker

Description: The people who work for, or under the control of, contractors on a construction site.

Summary: They must

• Be consulted about matters which affect their health, safety and welfare;
• Take care of their own health and safety and others who may be affected by their actions;
• Report anything they see which is likely to endanger either their own or other’s health and safety;
• Cooperate with their employer, fellow workers, contractors, and other duty holders.

Organisations or individuals can carry out the role of more than one duty holder, provided they have the skills, knowledge, experience and (if an organisation) the organisational capability to carry out those roles in a way that secures health and safety.

Principal designers are not a direct replacement for CDM co-ordinators. The range of duties they carry out is different to those undertaken by CDM co-ordinators under CDM 2007.

Things to consider:

• Anticipate – scan the horizon for emerging or changing risks
• Assess – assess risks and set priorities
• Prevent – when and where possible
• Respond – implement the plan, adapt and learn
• Recover – recover to the “new normal”
• This will enable you to Prepare.

A major incident is defined as: An event or situation, with a wide range of serious consequences, which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more of the emergency responder agencies.

• Emergency Response – decide what processes are required to deal with the initial incident.
• Incident Management – how will the organisation deal with the business interruption.
• Crisis Management – decide what arrangements are needed to deal with strategic, complex, and unprecedented events.
• Business Continuity – decide what processes are required to ensure critical and urgent business activities can continue to operate. Consider loss of buildings due to evacuation, loss of personnel and loss of equipment, as an example.

Risks, Threats and Hazards

Consider:

• Fire or gas leak
• Terrorism threat
• Structural failures
• Serious crowd-related incidents, e.g., crushing, and antisocial/criminal behaviour
• Public health concerns, e.g., outbreaks of infectious diseases
• Severe weather conditions
• Flooding
• Equipment failure
• Communication system failures
• Data breeches
• Loss of services or utilities failure
• Loss of control point/event control
• Loss of key personnel or disruption to key performances
• Disruption to traffic/transport arrangements
• Supply chain failures.

Please Note: For specific security threats, i.e., terrorism, seek guidance from Security Professionals and Thames Valley Police.

Response

In order to respond to an emergency, a set of command-and-control arrangements will need to be rapidly activated. One method is to use the “Gold – Silver – Bronze” model.

• Gold (or strategic) – serves as strategic overall leadership, with the purpose of Directing.
• Silver (or tactical) – serves as co-ordination of activities as directed by Gold, with the purpose of Co-ordinating.
• Bronze (or operational) – serves to carry out actions at the scene, with the purpose of Doing.

Decisions will need to be made as to which personnel will fall into each category – this should be confirmed before attending the SAG meetings.

Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined, understood, and communicated.

You will need to consider communication with various people at various times during the event. Things to consider include communication from the event safety officer and event safety management team, communication with joint agencies, communication between staff/workers, and public information and communication.

Communication needs to be considered at 4 key times: Pre- Event, During Event, Emergency, and Post-Event.

Please Note: Be mindful of the information within the public domain as it may be used to undermine the safety and security of the event. Be wary of people asking questions about security arrangements and report any suspicious behaviour immediately.

The Purple Guide advises medical staffing provision as follows:

First Responder-led service

Description: Small event, typically fewer than 2,000 attendees. No significant problems expected.

Crew: 2 first responders for up to 500 attendees, 4 first responders for up to 2000 attendees, 1 manager.

Consider: Paramedics, ECPs or ENPs to increase casualty assessment and stabilisation, site ambulance, and crew if event held across a large area.

Paramedic or Nurse-led service

Description: Small event, typically fewer than 2,000 to 10,000 attendees. Low-risk significant problems.

Crew: 1–2 paramedics, 2–4 nurses, 2 first responders per 4,000 attendees, 1 manager.

Consider: Doctor, site ambulance(s) and crew(s), Rapid Responder Vehicle.

Doctor-led service

Description: Medium-sized event, typically 10,000 to 20,000 attendees.

Crew: 1-2 doctors, 2-4 nurses or ENPs, 1-2 paramedics or ECPs, 2 first responders / 5000 attendees, 1 site ambulance and crew, 1 Rapid Response Vehicle, 1 road ambulance and crew for off-site transfers only, 1 manager.

Consider: On-site liaison and control facility, second road ambulance if transfer times prolonged.

Emergency Medicine doctor-led cover with specialised support

Description: Large, often complex event, typically 20,000 to 100,000 attendees – maybe many more. Significant risk of high acuity presentations, substance misuse and disorderly behaviour.

Crew: 2 doctors/25,000 attendees, 4 nurses/25,000 attendees, 2 paramedics/25,000 attendees, 2-4 first responders/25,000 attendees, 1-2 site ambulances and crew/50,000 attendees, 1-2 road ambulances and crew/ 100,000 attendees for off-site transfers only, 1-2 Rapid Response Vehicles, On-site liaison and control facility, Management team.

When using special effects and pyrotechnics, you must consider:

• The competency of the contractors.
• The transport and storage arrangements for the pyrotechnics/fireworks – this should be included within the competent contractor’s risk assessment.
• Those responsible for the special effects and pyrotechnics have been provided with the relevant information regarding the event, e.g., location of the audience, display timings etc.
• Adequate time and resources have been provided for rehearsals and preparation.
• Appropriate arrangements have been made for emergencies, i.e., firefighting and first aid.
• Consideration to the effects of smoke from effects, e.g., fireworks, drifting beyond site.
• Adequate communication arrangements are in place.
• Secure facilities are available for the assembly, fusing etc. of explosive effects before use.
• The display firing, control, safety, and fallout areas are suitably located at the correct distance for operation and with clear line of sight.
• Consider whether use of strobe lights, lasers and similar systems is appropriate due to the risk of causing seizures in persons with photosensitive epilepsy. If strobe lights, lasers or similar systems are to be used, provide warnings at the entrance(s) to the event. Flicker rates must be below four flashes per second.

The person(s) in charge of the special effects/fireworks remains responsible at all times for the safe planning and execution of the effect – it is the Event Organiser’s responsibility to ensure the area used for the launch of the fireworks has been risk assessed by the owner of the fireworks/special effects, and that the use of the effects will not have a detrimental effect on attendee health, safety, or well-being.

Consideration should be given to the accessibility of the event and associated activities for persons with disabilities.

• Ensure the event location allows for good physical accessibility, i.e., is there a ramp, disabled toilet facilities, wheelchair or mobility scooter user accessible lifts, sufficient parking?
• Confirm the event/activities are accessible to wheelchair or mobility scooter users, someone who is partially sighted or deaf, or hearing impaired, i.e., can they be used by all?
• Ensure that pathways, SFARP, are wide enough to allow for wheelchair or mobility scooter users to navigate the event site.
• Where possible, ensure access to the site is level and step-free. If this is not possible, consider additional options such as access ramps or alternative routes.
• Ensure a hearing or induction loop has been installed on any stages and/or performance areas.
• Consider providing captioning or subtitles for performances with spoken words.
• Is it possible to provide audio description and/or sign language interpreters?
• Ensure additional requirements for any Guide Dogs and assistance dogs likely to be present are provided, such as water bowls and relief areas.
• Where possible, include productions and activities that can be performed in a relaxed atmosphere to accommodate persons with additional needs, such as learning disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Conditions, e.g., safe spaces or similar.

Amusements and attractions may include fairgrounds, individual fairground rides, inflatable devices e.g., bouncy castles etc.

Specific guidance is available for each type of attraction and is detailed within “Applicable Legislation and Guidance” on page 1.

• CDM Regulations apply to the build and break down of funfair rides.
• You need to ensure that the operator/owner of the ride(s) is competent and are adequately resourced.
• Insurances, risk assessments and evidence that all relevant devices have valid test certificates are to be reviewed prior to the event.
• Ensure amusements and attractions are procured from reputable suppliers and/or operators belonging to a recognised trade body, where possible.
• Ensure amusements and attractions are sited correctly to avoid overhead and underground services.
• Ensure there is a means of monitoring wind speed available.

Please Note: Fairground rides and inflatables are work equipment which, under law, require regular inspection and should be inspected annually. Evidence must be provided that these inspections have taken place prior to the event.

Consideration must be given to whether any additional welfare facilities will be required, e.g., toilets.

Information for attendees should be available both before and on the day, including directions to key areas. This should also include information in relation to disability provisions.  If physical documentation is not available, stewards should be able to provide the necessary information.

Display key information at entrances, information points, car parks etc. and within the event programme, if issued.

Carry out checks to ensure that food and drinks vendors have the relevant licensing, and Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) stickers are displayed. Vendors must also be registered with their ‘home’ authority.

All food business operators must have an appropriate written Food Safety Management System in place and must be trained in its use. This documentation should be reviewed prior to the event.

Food businesses must be able to provide information to customers regarding the presence of any of the 14 specified allergens as ingredients in any of the foods.

Ensure Public Liability insurance is in place and that the amount of cover is sufficient. Buckinghamshire Council requires a minimum coverage of £10 million.

Ensure that processes and procedures are in place to ensure the safety of children, young persons, and vulnerable persons.

For council-led events, Buckinghamshire Council will employ event photographers, who will wear specific high visibility clothing for identification. Be aware of anyone taking photographs that seems out of place and report any suspicious activity to event stewards and/or a member of the Control team.

Safeguarding should be included within risk assessments, Event Safety Plans and discussed during SAG meetings.

Only authorised and competent persons should be operating drones at the event.

• Ensure risk assessments have been carried out and Public Liability insurance is in place.
• Check inspection records for the equipment, where possible.
• Ensure the pilot is operating the equipment in accordance with Civil Air Authority (CAA) regulations.

Consideration should be given to hazards created by the weather, including:

• Severe weather warnings
• Sun exposure
• Cold and wet weather
• Fog and visibility
• Pollen
• Wind, including gusts
• Lightning

Remember to include staff and contractors when considering the effects of the weather and ensure appropriate arrangements have been made to prevent anyone being over-exposed to the elements.

Remember to consider arrangements for staff welfare during the various stages of the event.

• Ensure staff are competent and have the necessary training, qualifications and/or evidence of competency to carry out their duties safely.
• Ensure risk assessments are completed and reviewed prior to the event.
• Medical support may be required during the building and dismantling stages, as well as during the event.
• Provide information to staff as to where the welfare facilities are located.

Provide any PPE and equipment required, free of charge, to them in order to carry out their duties safely, i.e., high-visibility clothing, radios, sun protection etc.

There are 3 key insurances to consider:

Employer’s Liability Insurance

Description: Covers personnel employed for the event.

Min. coverage: £10,000,000

Public Liability Insurance

Description: Covers accidental property damage and injury to the public.

Min. coverage: £10,000,000

Equipment Insurance (Owned and/or Hired)

Description: Covers theft, damage etc. of equipment

Min. coverage: Dependent on the value of the equipment

Other insurances include, amongst others:

• Cancellation
• Non-appearance
• National Mourning
• Terrorism

Consideration must be given to how waste will be managed before, during and after the event.

Show organisers have an obligation, under the terms of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 Section 9 (2), to ensure best welfare practices are observed at all times. Show organisers normally arrange for the attendance of a vet. Persons exhibiting animals or using them in TV, film or theatre productions must have the necessary licences in place, and these should be checked prior to the event.

• Ensure a welfare plan is developed.
• Remember that livestock at events will be in unfamiliar surroundings and are likely to be less predictable – ensure handlers are competent to manage their animals.
• Ensure risk assessments have been completed, insurance documentation has been provided and both have been reviewed prior to the event.
• Ensure activities are carried out in accordance with DEFRA.

Disclaimer

This guidance document has omitted detail from The Purple Guide as the majority of the information it relates to will be identified during the planning stage for the event.

The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events should be referred to for clarification or specific detail.

General Considerations:

• Have appropriate licences been applied for/granted?
• Has the Safety Action Group been created/informed?
• Has the proposed location for the event been communicated to interested persons?
• Has a visit of the proposed site taken place to confirm suitability for the event?
• Has the audience profile been identified?
• Has an estimate of crowd numbers been provided?
• Has the length and timing of the event been considered?
• Has access and egress to and from the event (including transport) been included?
  • g., load in / load out phases, event attendees, VIPs, parking arrangements etc.
• Is existing infrastructure sufficient for the event?
• Have site risk assessments, including assessment of fire risk, been completed?
• Has the Event Safety Plan been compiled/completed?
• Has maximum capacity been identified?
• Is there an Incident Management system in place?
• Has a Command-and-Control response been set up and agreed?
• Has sufficient medical support been arranged?
• Has waste management been considered?
• Has important event information been communicated to interested persons?
• Are there enough welfare provisions on site?
• Has documentation been reviewed to incorporate information from contractors?
• Have key findings and information been provided to interested parties?

• Have training records, or equivalents, been provided to confirm competency?
• Have necessary licences been provided, and are they valid?
• Have risk assessments and safe systems of work been provided and reviewed?
• Has the contractor confirmed they will provide sufficient staffing levels for the event?
• Have copies of inspection certificates been provided? Are they valid?
• Has evidence of Public Liability insurance of at least £10 million been provided? Is it valid?
• If additional monitoring or supervision is required, are necessary resources in place?
• Have all queries and/or concerns been answered satisfactorily?

Please Note: If any of the answers to these questions is ‘no’, the contractor should not participate in the event.

Appendix 1 - Event Scoping Risk Assessment

Appendix 2 - Event Safety Plan Template