Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

protecting the health, safety and welfare of everyone working at, or attending, an event 10 . All of the
statutory agencies involved in contingency planning for the Carnival have stated that although a safety
forum exists in the form of an Operational Planning and Safety Group (OPSG) 11 so that information on
public safety arrangements is shared between organisations, in their view, the ‘event organiser’ for the
Carnival is currently LNHCL. In an attempt to establish what happens in practise, the Review Group
produced a ‘Carnival Public Safety Matrix’, which offers an analysis of the various roles and
responsibilities currently being undertaken by all the organisations involved in delivering the Carnival.
The matrix clearly demonstrates that whilst there has always been a community-based organisation to
co-ordinate the Carnival, the limitations of this organisation – in financial and human resource terms –
have meant that its ability to fully assume the role of ‘event organiser’ with responsibility for public
safety, has not been achievable. As a consequence, the evidence suggests that in reality, the MPS, the
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) and the City of Westminster (WCC) have been
required to commit considerable resources in order to compensate for the inability of the event
organiser to assume full responsibility for the Notting Hill Carnival’s public safety issues. With public
investment comes public accountability and therefore, given the level of operational responsibility that
has been assumed by the statutory agencies in general and the police and local authorities in
particular, this report calls for:
• greater transparency and accountability for the decisions being taken by the OPSG. In
particular, the Carnival Review Group is recommending that the minutes of all group meetings
are made public and that the group should be responsible for producing an annual Public
Safety Strategy and detailed review, all of which would be subject to independent scrutiny by
the London Assembly, the Audit Commission and the HSE [recommendation 16b];
• greater level of involvement from the HSE. The Review Group identified an urgent need for an
independent agency, capable of leading on matters of public safety at the Carnival
[recommendation 16c]; and
• the establishment of a high level working group to review public safety responsibility,
accountability and decision-making issues relating to all major events that take place on the
public highway. Membership of such a group would comprise HSE, GOL, Home Office and
DCMS in the first instance. [recommendation 17]
Sustainable Economic Development, Empowerment and Investment
Now in its 40 th year, the Notting Hill Carnival has enormous economic and social potential that has yet
to be fully realised. A majority of the problems experienced by the Carnival stem from years of underinvestment
and lack of appreciation for the true value of the Carnival as a world-class event. The
empirical evidence provided by the LDA’s study of the Carnival’s economic contribution to London’s
economy has succeeded in challenging the negative assumptions held about the Carnival and provided
a compelling case for greater investment in order to safeguard the future of one of London’s oldest
festivals.
• the establishment of a permanent home within Notting Hill, a Centre for Carnival Arts and
Enterprise [recommendation 22];
10
“The Event Safety Guide: A Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Similar Events”, Health & Safety Executive (HSE), 1999.
11
The following organisations are members of the Operational Planning and Safety Group (OPSG): London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd,
Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London, London Underground Ltd, City of Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea, London Buses, St. John Ambulance, British Transport Police and London Ambulance Service.
16