It is a legal requirement for every employer and self-employed person to make an assessment of the health and safety risks under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. This good practice should also be part of organising an event as there is a duty of care to event staff and visitors.
Risk assessment should be carried out to:
- identify hazards
- assess how people may be harmed
- determine the chances of this happening (the risk matrix)
- what can be put in place to prevent, or minimise harm (mitigation)
It is important to constantly assess the risk before, during and after your event. The following tools are provided to help you do this:
- score sheet template (pdf)
- event check list: template for site specific risk assessments and monitoring (pdf)
Wyre Safety Advisory Group (WYSAG)
This group is made up of representatives from the council, including event management; engineering; health and safety; environmental health; and tourism, marketing, and communications. This membership will vary depending on the type of event being advised upon.
- The Police - for public order and safety, crime prevention and the protection of children and young people
- The Ambulance Service - for emergency response
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue - for emergency response, fire risk and crowd management
- Lancashire County Council - for highways matters
- Blackpool transport - for issues involving bus and tram routes
- all three emergency services, Blackpool Transport and Lancashire County Council
Its role is:
- to advise event organisers on best practice and standards for health, safety and welfare
- to promote a consistent and co-ordinated multi-agency approach to event management planning
- to advise event organisers on incident management, emergency arrangements and contingency planning
- to advise on the law in relation to planning and delivery of events
- to assess the impact of any local disruption relating to an event
- to receive reports during the event planning process
If you are proposing a larger, or high risk event you will be invited to meet with this group to discuss your proposals, they are here to help you run a safe, successful event.
Score sheet template
You can download the score sheet template (pdf) which allows you to asses the risk of your indoor and outdoor event. It helps show what support, management, and controls are advised. You can also download the examples of actual risk assessment score sheets (pdf) for further guidance.