Those present - Libby Bateman (Cumbria), Joanne Pepper (Cumbria), Alisdair Denholm (Lancaster), Geoff Banks (Leeds), Katy Young (Liverpool), Joseph Cooper ( UCLAN), Glyn Parry (Bangor), Paul Bamber (Liverpool), Ian Boulger (Man Met), Mike Riley (Sussex), Fergus (Man Met)

Apologies - Alison Fleet (Bath), Howard Jeffs (Independent), Phil Kynaston (Man Met), Ian Johnston (Lincoln)

Introduction - Libby Bateman welcomed everybody to the meeting and gave a brief outline about SASA, its past and the way forward for the future.

Dom Hall - Fieldskills UK - Gave an excellent talk to the meeting about feildtrip safety and expedition training. The talk was interactive and informative with many issues being raised which could be related to safety in many activies and not just when on a field trip or expedition.

The main point from the talk is that there is to be a new British standard brought in BS 8848 which is not a legal requirement but a set of guidelines for overseas visits for educational institutions. Further information about the standard can be gained from the BSI Web site

Lunch - at 12.45 the meeting broke for a light lunch and open agenda followed. Items brought to the table for discussion included

Observing group visits - The group discussed the benefits of attending some group activities in order to observe safety practices in the field?

Specific Risk Assessments - Are your risk assessments specific to an activity e.g. paddling or do you assess each trip separately in order to take into account environmental risks such as road crossings etc.

Risk Assessment Authorization - Who is the best person at your organization to sign off risk assessments?

Boats on Roof racks - Do you permit boats to be carried on mini bus roof racks? Is the manual handling taken into account when loading? Does this effect your vehicle weight/height? Is it safer to tow or hire a van?

Under 18s - Are they covered by the same insurance as your over 18s? Parental consent. Overnight trips. Sporting fixtures/socials.

Socials - What is your responsibility for club social activities? When has a social considered to have begun and ended? Are these procedures documented?

Mini Buses - Are mini buses being subject to any new regulations regarding tracking devices?

MIDAS training - Is this compulsory in your organization, will you receive and insurance benefits if it is?

Food Safety - Do any of your clubs or societies prepare food for each other? How do you ensure that the food is being safely carried/stored and prepared?

Near Misses - An incident at a University Surf club has resulted in a buddy system being put into place whilst on the water.

Any other business - Libby asked the group for advice on the kind of information that they would find useful on the web site. Links to places where people can find advice was asked for along with links to NGBs. The meeting also asked for SASA to put some pressure on NGBs to be more forth coming with safety advice,

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING - Friday 25th Jan - Sheffield Hallam

Usefull Links were you will be able to find advice on some of the discussion points

HSE 5 steps to risk assessments

Manual Handling

Community Transport Association

Food Standards Agency

MIDAS