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Safety Advisory Group

What is the Safety Advisory Group?

The St Albans District Events Safety Advisory Group (SAG) enables key agencies to work together to look at safety issues for any public events taking place in the District. SAG is an advisory group formed of agencies who are competent to give guidance about event safety. While SAG can advise, it is your responsibility as an event organiser to ensure your event is run safely. 

SAG cannot approve, ban, or permit an event, its role is to work with organisers to give information to ensure that events take place safely.

Should any member of the SAG have any questions about an event, the organiser may be asked to come along to meet the group so that any issues can be discussed and the organiser can ask for advice from the members.

Who are the members of St Albans SAG?

The Safety Advisory Group consists of a number of agencies who work to maintain and enhance public safety.

Core Members:

  • Chair (Local authority)
  • Support Officer (Local authority)
  • Herts Constabulary (County and local):
    • Community protection
    • Operational response
  • Herts Fire and Rescue:
    • Fire protection
    • Operational response
  • East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST)
  • Emergency Planning
  • Herts Highways
  • Legal, Democratic & Regulatory Services (Licensing)
  • Legal, Democratic & Regulatory Services (Health & Safety/ Business Compliance)
  • Harpenden Town Council

Non-Core Members:

  • Invited representation from stakeholders who can assist the review process.
  • Parks Officers (Local Authority – Community and Place Delivery/Public Realm)
  • Parish Council Representatives (who wish to attend)
  • SADC Internal Health & Safety officer

 

  • The St Albans District Event Safety Advisory Group is administered by St Albans City & District Council, District Council Offices, Civic Centre, St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3JE. Contact SAG directly via e-mail events@stalbans.gov.uk.

Does my event need to be submitted to SAG?

It is advisable for organisers of any public event taking place within St Albans District to submit their documentation to St Albans SAG, so the event can be checked for safety issues.

It is compulsory for organisers of all events on SADC-owned or managed land to submit event documentation to SAG.

How do you decide if an event gets a full review by SAG members?

A triage system is in place for any events of which SAG are notified. If one or more triggers is activated, then full documentation will be required from the Event Organiser for consideration by SAG members. 

Triggers which will activate a SAG review are:

  • Licensable events that expect to attract 500 or more attendees. 
  • Density of attendees (reported as number vs size of area).
  • Road closure in place.
  • A new event.
  • A new organiser to the District.
  • A new venue.
  • An event that hasn’t been through St Albans SAG before or is due a review (SAG reviews will take place every three years)
  • Inclusion of high risk activity (e.g. water, bouncy castle, fireworks)
  • Incidents or issues at previous same event or similar event organised by same event organiser.
  • Known impact on the local community and infrastructure (e.g. sensitive location known to us)
  • Event organiser requesting SAG review or meeting. 

What paperwork could SAG request?

Please note that, as outlined elsewhere, we will be looking to work with event organisers who work within established event organisation protocols. See the information listed under [link] ‘Organising your Outdoor Event in St Albans District’ for a rundown of the considerations an event organiser would be expected to bear in mind when organising their event, including the documentation that would be expected to be available, any of which the SAG may wish to see. Depending on the nature of the event, this might include:

  • Event Management Plan
  • Risk assessments including Counter Terrorism mitigations (templates available on the Health and Safety Executive website here)
  • Site plan
  • Public Liability/Indemnity Insurance
  • Emergency Safety Plan
  • Food Hygiene Ratings (if relevant)
  • Food Hygiene Certificates (if relevant)
  • Catering Risk Assessment (if relevant)
  • Gas and Electricity safety check certificates (if relevant)
  • Generator certificates (if relevant)
  • ADIPS for all rides (if relevant)
  • PIPA inspection certificate (if relevant)
  • Risk assessment for stage/temporary structures (if relevant)
  • Waste disposal plan
  • Fire risk assessment
  • Security/medical plan