Laura Smallwood

Mr Andrew J. Cox 
HM Senior Coroner 
Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly 

By email only: 

Tom Pursglove MP 
Minister of State 
2 Marsham Street 
London SW1P 4DF 

Our ref: MIN/0291376/22 
Your ref: AJC/LJB/310320 

14 July 2022 

Dear Mr Cox, 

Re: Regulation 28 Prevention of Future Deaths letter Re: Laura Amy 
Smallwood 

I am grateful to you for bringing to my attention the circumstances surrounding 
the death of Laura Smallwood. I was saddened to hear how what should have 
been an enjoyable day turned out so tragically. I would ask that you please 
convey my condolences to Laura’s family and friends. 

When you wrote to Minister Kit Malthouse on 7 April 2022 you raised two 
issues: 

- Whether there is adequate legislative authority currently to ensure 

safety at public gatherings where there is no Event Organiser to liaise 
with an LSAG or other external agencies; 

- Whether additional powers need to be given to the police or others to 
grant or refuse permission for a particular event to take place in the 
absence of the appointment of an Event Organiser with meaningful 
engagement with an LSAG so that public safety considerations are 
properly addressed. 

I appreciate you extending the deadline for me to respond thereby allowing 
me to consult colleagues across Government who have responsibility for 
national policy around public events and health and safety. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We want public events to be safe for those who take part or spectate, and for 
the vast majority of the time that is what we see.  That is often thanks to the 
people who are willing to take on responsibility for aspects of the organisation 
and liaise with the local authorities to draw on their expertise in keeping 
people safe.  I was pleased to read in your report that some element of that 
now happens with the Oss committee. 

As you indicate, however, the Safety Advisory Groups do not have a statutory 
basis.  This does mean the SAG has no limitations as to what events it 
considers, should it so desire. It can consider events regardless of venue -
public or private; free to attend or ticketed; traditional or novel events; regular 
or occasional; or voluntary or charitable. 

It does also mean that attendance or engagement with the Safety Advisory 
Groups is voluntary and there is no legal requirement to appoint an organiser 
or to engage with the local authority or law enforcement. The Cabinet Office’s 
Emergency Planning College (EPC) recognises this possibility and notes that 
it may be challenging. It is the Government’s view that where there is no 
organiser, or an event organiser declines to engage in safety processes, it 
should not prevent the Safety Advisory Group taking reasonable steps to 
review the safety arrangements of an event.  The EPC guidance, The UK 
Good Practice Guide to Working in Safety Advisory Groups, states: 

“It is important to consider why an organiser is unwilling or unable to engage. 
It will be important to demonstrate that a SAG is well intentioned and focused 
on working with organisers, by considering the safety aspects of their event. 
The SAG should not be considered as a threatening environment as the 
safety of all involved in an event should be mutually beneficial. The SAG 
should not make unreasonable or unfair demands on the organiser and the 
options highlighted in section 3.8 under ‘smarter working’ should be 
considered. These include technological solutions such as 
video/teleconferencing. The SAG should also guard against placing 
disproportionate demands on organisers of what are obviously very low-risk 
events. Wherever possible SAGs should still seek to assess the safety 
arrangements of an event, despite such a lack of participation by an 
organiser. It should also then address any issues raised by the most 
appropriate means. It will be particularly important to ensure that accurate 
and appropriate records of representations and correspondence are 
maintained in these situations. In any case, the SAG chair should coordinate 
its members’ desires and attempts to communicate with the organiser, 
ensuring that attempts are recorded and properly documented.”1 

Those who attend Safety Advisory Groups do have a range of powers that 
may be applicable.  For example, the local authority will have licensing powers 
and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 would apply where the planning, 
organising, or running of an event is a work activity.  In extremis, the police 

1 Emergency Planning College, The UK Good Practice Guide to Working In Safety Advisory Groups, 
Part 2 Supporting Appendices (The Emergency Planning College: 2019), 12 Microsoft Word - The 
UK GPG to WSAG Part 2 (epcresilience.com) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 could act to prevent a breach of the peace. The EPC’s guidance sets out the 
powers which may be relevant in more detail.2 

The Government believes there is great value to our national life in 
communities being able to celebrate their local traditions, bringing people 
together to take pride in their area, and strengthening community spirit. 

For that reason, we have taken the view that it is better to support and 
encourage sensible planning and preparation, rather than to mandate every 
element of it through legislation.  The latest public guidance from the Cabinet 
Office (Organising a voluntary event: a 'can do' guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) )is 
intended to help people planning voluntary events, with advice on the steps 
that organisers should take. 

To amend the law in this area sadly would not necessarily prevent the – 
mercifully rare – occasions when something goes tragically wrong as it did in 
this case.  Consequently, the government believes that we should continue to 
encourage those wishing to organise events to engage sensibly with local 
experts to keep people safe. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Tom Pursglove MP 
Minister of State 

2 Emergency Planning College, The UK Good Practice Guide to Working In Safety Advisory Groups, 
Part 2 Supporting Appendices, 4-11