Safety advisory group (SAG)

It is the policy of the SAG, so far as is reasonably practicable, to offer advice in order to ensure the highest possible standards of public safety at events and to encourage wellbeing of the public, operatives and others affected by events.

The SAG will not make any decisions on behalf of the local authority or other agencies as its role is advisory and, as such, it has no authority to approve or prohibit events.

If the SAG identifies an event that is likely to compromise the safety of the people attending, the appropriate organisation may need to consider action to prevent such events from taking place unless the necessary safety improvements are implemented. In which case organisers will be contacted directly by the relevant agency/organisation. Where this occurs, this is the decision and action of the organisation themselves, not the decision or action of the SAG.

Where members of the SAG make their own statutory decisions, it is stressed that these are the determination of that agency and not the SAG. Any decisions made by members of the SAG outside of the meeting should be reported to the chair of the SAG and recorded as appropriate.

If discussions held at the SAG require escalation, this should be undertaken in line with individual organisations own escalation procedures.

The overall responsibility for the safety of persons at an event will lie with the event organiser, venue owner / operator and management team.