Tuesday 24 March, 10am,
Committee Room 16, Palace of Westminster
The lessons that can be learnt from how events are organised in
the devolved nations and event safety will be the topics of
discission during the third oral evidence session of the Culture,
Media and Sport Committee's major events inquiry.
The Committee will first hear from the head of events at VisitScotland on the
major events landscape north of the border and the benefits of
having a dedicated agency operating under a national strategy.
MPs will likely explore whether the UK Government could take a
more coherent approach to organising events and discuss the case
for developing a UK major events strategy.
The second part of the session will focus on the safety and
regulation aspects of major events with witnesses from the Sports
Grounds Safety Authority and the UK Crowd Management Association.
There are likely to be questions on Safety Advisory Groups, which
provide specialist advice to local authorities about the safety
of sporting events. With their role highlighted last year over
the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match against
Aston Villa, the Committee could ask about their powers, the
extent to which they involve communities in their decisions, and
whether they operate consistently across the country.
Members could also explore the status of discussions around who
is responsible for bearing the cost of policing major events and
the surrounding area.
The major events inquiry was launched last summer
to look at examples of best practice across the sector and the
role of the UK Government in providing support for events,
including internationally recognised sporting competitions,
national celebrations and festivals, which generate significant
economic activity, media coverage and cultural impact.
The Committee previously took evidence from
industry and trade body representatives to explore the shared
challenges faced across the cultural, sporting and music events
sectors, while a session has also been held on
legacy planning and overseas growth and export opportunities.
Witnesses
At 10am
-
Rebecca Edser, Head of Events, VisitScotland
At 10.45am
-
Ken Scott MBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Head
of Inspectorate, Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA)
-
Anne Marie Chebib, Chair, United Kingdom Crowd
Management Association (UKCMA)
