Fairground Safety (Hansard, 6 January 2003)

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown

My right hon. Friend has had no discussions with the Health and Safety Executive regarding fairground safety since the death of Stacey Rowe in 2000. The Secretary of Sate for Work and Pensions assumed responsibility for the Health and Safety commission and the Health and Safety Executive on 24 July 2002. However, meetings were held on 10 and 26 July 2001 between HSE and my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test (Dr. Whitehead), the Minister with health and safety responsibilities at the time.

There have been no discussions between my right hon. Friend and the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain (SGGB), nor the National Association for Leisure Industry Certification (NAFLIC).

However, discussions between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and members of the SGGB and NAFLIC on fairground safety take place on a regular basis.

In addition, both trade associations are full members of the Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks Joint Advisory Committee (FJAC), which comprises members of the trade associations and others involved in the fairground industry together with representatives from the Health and Safety Executive. This committee has a number of sub-committees; these are the Technical Working Group, the Amusement Devices Inspection Procedures Working Group (ADIPS) and the Research Working Group.

The Health and Safety Executive, and the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and the National Association for the Leisure Industry Certification are represented on these working groups, which meet regularly and whose purpose is to maintain and improve standards of safety within the industry as a whole through a formal communication process.