Health and Safety Policy:

Friends of Marple Memorial Park

Adopted at Committee Meeting 13 June 2016.

Statement of intent

1. The policy of the Friends of Marple Memorial Park is to provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions and environment for our volunteers, plus any other people who are directly affected by our activities, such as members of the public at our events.

Responsibility

1. Overall and final responsibility for health and safety at all events and activities organised by Friends of Marple Memorial Park lies with the management committee. This responsibility will be delegated to trained volunteer Task Leader(s) for each event or activity. Task Leaders have received Council training in preparing risk assessments and basic First-Aid and will be responsible for ensuring that this policy is upheld.

2. For our monthly committee meetings the responsible person is Mark Whittaker.

3. For all other events the responsible person will be named in advance and their name will be noted on all relevant risk assessments. All volunteers involved will be made aware of who is responsible for health and safety.

General arrangements

1. The main activity of the Friends of Marple Memorial Park is Task Days in the park (or other council owned land as agreed) to undertake maintenance and improvement activities in accordance with Stockport Council's approved volunteer task lists. Task Days will be registered and approved on the Council's on-line system and insurance will be provided by the Council. Appropriate risk assessments will be submitted with all task day applications. Volunteers will be registered and inducted via a walk-through of the risk assessment(s) appropriate to the work that they will undertake. The use of power-tools is only permitted by volunteers who have completed the Council run power-tools training and are familiar with the specific risk assessments covering these activities. All general risk assessments will be reviewed at least once a year.

2. Friends of the Park may hold ad-hoc task days in the park (or other council owned land as agreed) providing there is a current Daily Task Day application approved by the Council in place at that time and the task day is led by a volunteer who has completed Task Leader training. Only volunteers who have previously been registered and inducted may take part in ad-hoc task days. Insurance cover will be provided by the Council.

3. Friends of Marple Memorial Park may organise small social activities and events (less than 500 attendees) in support of and to raise funds for the benefit of the park. A risk assessment will be carried out before every one off event. This will include assessing risk as it relates to all aspects of the event including: equipment; venue; volunteers; participants and attendees. Appropriate precautions will be taken to minimise hazards at all events and activities. If on council owned land an event application will also be submitted and council approval obtained.

4. Friends of Marple Memorial Park will also attend larger events organised by others (such as Marple Carnival, Marple Food and Drink Festival, Marple Christmas Cracker and similar) in support of and to raise funds for the benefit of the park. A risk assessment will be carried out before every one off event. This will include assessing risk as it relates to all aspects of the activities being undertaken by Friends of the Park including: equipment; venue; volunteers; participants and attendees. Appropriate precautions will be taken to minimise hazards at all events and activities.

5. We will have a First Aid Kit available at all events organised by Friends of the Park which are open to the public and will ensure first-aid arrangements at larger events organised by others are understood by our volunteers taking part.

6. We will make sure all our volunteers at events and activities are aware of fire exits as appropriate.

7. All volunteers will be made aware of the precautions they need to take as noted on the relevant risk assessment.

8. No volunteer will run an event or activity on their own, and at least two volunteers or employees should stay at an event until it is finished and the last attendees have left.

9. Friends of the Park will hold Public Liability Insurance for events and activities described by items 3 and 4 above (insurance cover for task days described by items 1 and 2 will be provided under the council's Task Registration System.)

Review

This policy will be reviewed every year (last review 11 April 2022).