SG Consultation: Adventurous Activities

Scottish Government Consultation:

Developing a safety system for Adventure Activities in Scotland

The MCofS Position and why Clubs should Respond Individually to the Consultation

The MCofS Response to the Consultation

1.0 The Consultation

The UK Government has decided to abolish the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA), the organisation responsible for licensing a number of adventure activities delivered to young people across the UK. The current statutory inspection and licensing regime will be replaced in England with a voluntary system.

Scottish Ministers have decided to undertake a consultation on a replacement for AALA in Scotland that ‘will need to meet the needs of Scottish providers and users whilst being robust but also proportionate’. The scope of the Scottish consultation is very broad, includes all age groups and those activities undertaken by voluntary clubs and associations, rather than simply those undertaken by under-18s and provided by licensed organisations and individuals.

The consultation may be completed online. Details including how to respond may be found on the Scottish Government website.

Remaining dates and venues (at 29 February) are: Thursday 1st March – Lochaber High School, Fort William (19:00 - 21:00) and Thursday 15th March – Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore (19:00 - 21:00)

Should you wish to attend any of the events you should send your name, that of your club or organisation and contact details to adventureactivities@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

2.0 Implications of the Consultation for the MCofS and Clubs

What are the implications of the consultation and (potentially) a new Scottish licensing scheme for the MCofS and its members?

For MCofS activities:

The MCofS organises its own events under the auspices of its Events Protocols, the requirements of which already meet or exceed those of AALA licensing. Therefore we do not believe that any form of licensing is necessary for our own activities, nor would it add any value.

For Clubs:

Under current AALA arrangements, clubs, being voluntary organisations, are not required to have their activities licensed by AALA. Given the scope of the Scottish Government’s consultation a future licensing regime for club activities may be possible.

3.0 Club Activities: The MCofS Position

The MCofS has already lobbied against any form of future licensing regime for mountaineering club activities through participation in meetings with Scottish Government representatives. Our position on the issue of any potential licensing scheme for club activities is clear:

A licensing scheme for club activities is unwarranted and unnecessary, because clubs organise their activities effectively on the basis of shared knowledge and experience, leading to the improvement of individual skills and self-reliance.
The MCofS provides its members with a range of training courses, lectures and information services which have the aim of improving self-reliance in the mountains, including personal and group management skills, knowledge of weather conditions and avalanche risk assessment. For example, the organisation and conduct of club meets is addressed comprehensively in our ‘Safety and Liability Guidance for Clubs’.
There is no evidence from either our experience or Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland statistics that there is a need for a mechanism for regulation for recreational mountaineering activities. Indeed, mountaineering incident statistics show that the number of incidents is decreasing at the same time that there is an increase in participation levels.
The introduction of a mechanism for regulating adventure activities in the context of volunteer- led clubs would be a barrier to increasing both volunteer support for, and participation in, mountaineering activities.
The MCofS considers that the freedom to undertake the activity of mountaineering without recourse to certification and licensing is a fundamental reason why Scottish mountaineering has achieved so much success and is such a vibrant and growing recreational activity.
The MCofS considers that the imposition of any limitation on this freedom through a licensing regime would both significantly reduce opportunities to participate and prove to be unworkable from the viewpoint of implementation and monitoring.
Furthermore, any reduction in opportunities to participate in mountaineering as a recreational activity would in turn have an adverse impact on the Scottish Government’s stated purpose to increase ‘healthy life expectancy in Scotland’.

4.0 The MCofS Response to the Consultation

Following agreement by the MCofS Board, we submitted our response to the consultation on 29 February. You can find the full text of our response here.

5.0 What Happens Next?

The closing date for responses is 30 March 2012.

Due to the scope of the consultation, and following a request for clarification of time scales, we understand that during Summer 2012 the Scottish Government will enact legislation to enable the continuation of the present AALA licensing scheme in Scotland. This is an interim position pending the introduction of any future licensing scheme and we have been advised that any successor to AALA in Scotland is unlikely to be brought before the Scottish Government until mid-2013, due to the complexities involved.

6.0 Should My Club Submit a Response to the Consultation?

If clubs value their current freedoms to enjoy Scotland’s mountains then the MCofS believe that clubs should respond individually to the Scottish Government consultation by the closing date of 30 March 2012. A response form and details of how to make a submission is available on the Scottish Government website.

7.0 Any Questions?

If you have questions concerning the consultation or how to respond, please contact David Gibson.