Dallas McMillan's Blog

Children will be exposed to greater risk of harm if important safety measures for adventure activities in Scotland are watered down, a not-for-profit campaign group has warned.

Because the existing licensing regime in Great Britain is going to be abolished, the Scottish Government is considering whether to replace it either with new regulations, a voluntary accreditation scheme or a voluntary code of practice.

“In making this important decision, the Scottish Government needs to look back on the tragedy of Lyme Bay, in England, in 1993,” said David Bott, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

“When we consider the deaths of those four teenage canoeists, it is difficult to see how anyone could consider it right to reduce these important safety measures.”

The impending abolition of the current licensing regime, which is run by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority was recommended by the UK Government's Lord Young of Graffham, who, in his report Common Sense, Common Safety, referred to it as an unnecessary “cost and burden on business.”

A consultation on the development of a safety system for adventure activities in Scotland has been launched by the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison.

The Scottish Government is considering the best way forward for Scotland in light of the UK Government's plan to replace the statutory Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) with a new voluntary code of practice.

The AALA was established in 1995 to licence caving, climbing, trekking and watersports operators after four young people lost their lives canoeing at Lyme Bay in Dorset.

The consultation seeks views on three proposals:

• Adopting the model proposed by the UK Government - this would see the current licensing regime replaced with a voluntary code of practice. This would remove the costs and bureaucracy associated with licensing but end the current inspection regime.
• Introducing a non-statutory, voluntary accreditation scheme - this would still include an element of inspection and accreditation, however, public bodies would only be able to promote and encourage compliance not enforce any scheme.
• Introducing a statutory scheme - this would see the continuation of an inspection and statutory scheme for Scotland, although an appropriate body would need to be identified to carry out its functions

Ms Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, said:

“The UK Government's proposed abolition of the AALA has implications for Scotland. Any safety system developed for adventure activities in Scotland would need to meet the needs of Scottish providers and users whilst being robust and proportionate."

"That's why I want to hear views on whether a statutory inspection and licensing regime should be maintained or if a new approach should be adopted and would encourage anyone with an interest to have their say on what should be put in place."

A housebuilder has been fined £20,000 after a young boy was seriously injured when some timber roof trusses fell onto him.

The eight year old boy was playing with friends when they got into an unsecured storage area on a construction site near Paisley. The development was nearing completion and the housebuilder, BDW Trading Ltd, had sold some of the finished houses and there were people living in them while work continued on the remaining homes. The young boy and his family had moved into one of these new houses.

As the children were playing in the storage area, some timber roof trusses fell onto the boy, trapping him underneath.

The boy sustained a serous injury to his liver and had abdominal bleeding, and was kept in hospital for eight days. In the months following the incident, he developed a number of anxiety-related symptoms such as nightmares and poor concentration.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the construction site was only partially fenced, and as a result there was a large gap at the side and rear which meant that the site could be easily accessed by members of the public, including children.

The investigation also revealed that the roof trusses had, at some point, been stacked upright which made them unstable and more likely to fall over.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Gerry McCulloch said:

"BDW Trading Ltd knew that families were living right next to of the construction site, and as such the safety of children should have been a primary consideration.

"If the company had taken the straightforward precaution of fencing off the construction site, the children would not have been able to get into the area and this young lad would not have received potentially life-threatening injuries."