Public events, law & best practice

As the organiser of an event, you are responsible for making sure it complies with a range of legal requirements. Dartford Borough website provides a very good overview of items for consideration. Some of the key issues are listed below:

You must comply with Health and Safety regulations. Some useful free leaflets are available from the Health and safety Executive. You should keep these regulations in mind when you are choosing your venue and must consider issues of equal access for all. Further information is available from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

You must carry out a risk assessment and implement the ‘precautions’ identified through the risk assessment. Remember to include whether you will need a Criminal Records Bureau or Disclosure check. Have a named safety officer for every event and check that they have an appropriate level of expertise to take responsibility for health and safety. If it is a very large event you should consider getting professional help with this aspect.

Always check through your ‘precautions’ listed in your risk assessment before you open the event to the public. If you are in doubt about the safety of any element, close it off to the public.

The simplest way to check that you have the correct licences to carryout your event is to contact Local Authority. You are likely to need a licence if you are:

o Providing alcohol or entertainment (which includes recorded music)

o Holding a raffle, lottery or auction

o Doing any sort of public collection

o Putting up banners or signs in public areas

This list isn’t exhaustive, if in doubt check with your local authority. Be aware that you may need a licence from the Performing Rights Society if you will be playing music or TV or film.

Consider the issues your risk assessment has highlighted and make sure you have insurance cover for areas where you might be subject to a claim. Check the venue you are using has insurance that covers your activities and that you are able to access the insurance should you need to.

If you are hiring in any equipment or service, check they are fully insured. Double check the contract you are signing with them, it is not unheard of for providers to try to pass the insurance responsibility on to you.

If you identify an area of risk in your ‘risk assessment’ that is not covered by insurance already provided, you will need to consider whether you need to take out insurance. You could take advice from the charity you are fundraising for, or an insurance broker (see our directory of service providers – insurance)

Your licence, risk assessment, and or insurance will most likely require you to have a first aid service on-site. There are a number of organisations that will provide this including St John’s Ambulance and British Red Cross.

Depending on the type of activity, you may need to let the emergency services know about the event, including:

o Police

o Fire service

o Local Authority

o for large events the Ambulance Service should be informed

You must always ensure that the owner of the property understands what will be happening and that they give you permission, ideally in writing, to carryout your activity. If you have it in writing and the person who gave permission is not there on the day, then you may save yourself a real headache.

You should also contact the organisation you are fundraising for and check that they are happy for the activity to take place in their name. Legally, you must have their permission to use their logo. Remember that if you are fundraising for a registered charity, you must include their registered number on all fundraising documents, including posters promoting the event.

The same copyright law applies to most images, company names and some slogans, so if you are using other peoples’ material in your promotional materials check you can first.

There are many different types of public event that are used to fundraise. The Institute of Fundraising produces Codes of Fundraising Practice, which look in detail at the issues you need to consider when running public and group fundraising events:

Charity Challenge Events: a minimum checklist of issues to consider

Event Fundraising: issues for planning and running an event

Face-to-Face Fundraising: ensure effective and sensitive fundraising

Fundraising in Schools: engaging children in voluntary and fundraising activities

House to House Collections: getting the most out of direct contact with the public

Outdoor Fundraising in the UK: staging successful outdoor events

Raffles and Lotteries: definitions and legislation to be adhered to

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