Independent report into festival released

AN Independent report into the failed Hope and Glory Festival, Liverpool, has found that the event organisers were responsible for its collapse. Commissioned by Mayor Anderson and carried out by 'The Event Safety Shop' (made up of some of the country's leading Health and Safety experts); the report has found that organisers tinyCOW were responsible for the failure of the event in St George's Quarter, that was meant to have been held over 5 August to 6 August 2017. They describe the event management plan as:- "not being fit for purpose" and found that the site build was delayed due to a lack of direction and communication by the company.

The catalogue of failures:-

►  No signage was installed, staff weren't briefed and there was confusion around the queuing system, with some customers being given incorrect tickets.

►  There was no designated area for lost children or vulnerable adults.

►  There was no emergency evacuation plan in place.

►  Acts on the main stage ran behind schedule and there were very long queues at the bars and toilets.

►  Members of the public felt there was significant risk to public safety.

►  The event manager left the site, was un-contactable and wasn't seen again until the end of the day.

The authors praise the actions of Council Officers who stepped in when things began to go wrong and made sure it was able to go ahead safely on the 1st day before being cancelled by organiser Lee O'Hanlon, on the 2nd day. But it also recommends that the Joint Agency Group (JAG) and Safety Advisory Group (SAG); which includes:- the emergency services, public transport bodies, the City Council and the NHS; are more involved in examining event plans and documentation in future. It also found that background screening checks into tinyCOW through professional bodies or trade associations would not have stopped their application from being progressed.

Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "We are a City renowned for staging large scale, successful events, and as a result of our reputation, we have more and more interest from the private sector in staging events here. We can't accept anything that jeopardises our hard-won reputation. This is why I commissioned an independent report to spell out exactly why this privately organised event failed, and look at what the public sector could do to mitigate this happening again.  It's clear in retrospect that the failure of the event was down to the mismanagement of the organisers and our staff did tremendous work on the first day sorting out a wide range of issues and enabling the event to continue. This report was all about learning lessons, and although our procedures have served us well for the past ten years, the context and environment for staging events has changed in recent years, so we need to be honest with ourselves and reflect on the processes and procedures that are in place and react to the recommendations put forward.  As a result of this report, we will work with our partners to put in place enhanced planning procedures for event which will find the right balance between scrutinising documents and not making the process too bureaucratic for organisers. If the company hadn't gone into liquidation, I would have asked Merseyside Police to investigate the financial liabilities of the Hope and Glory Festivals Ltd. As far as I'm concerned, they have a moral obligation to reimburse disappointed ticket holders who are out of pocket and I will be making this point to the liquidators."

The full report can be found online.

Parents urged to access vital funding to help children become 'School Ready'

LIFE chances commission finds that a ⅓ of childcare settings in the Liverpool City Region are missing out on vital funding of up to ₤300 per week, for disadvantaged children. Commission announces 3 moves to counter low take up... Ensuring a child is ready for school, regardless of their background, is a key priority for the Liverpool City Region Life Chances Commission which informs the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's Health, Adult and Children's Services Portfolio. The Commission has found in a survey that the Early Years Pupil Premium, a fund worth up to ₤300 per week, which is aimed at helping 3 and 4 year olds become 'School Ready,' is having a positive impact on disadvantaged children's development in the Liverpool City Region:-

►  Most childcare providers see clear improvements in confidence, self esteem, language and communication skills as a result of the funding.

►  Funding is generally being used on communication and language training, early literacy programmes, play based learning and social and emotional learning strategies.

►  Using funding for play and outdoor based learning has improved social and emotional skills as well as language and communication.

1 respondent to the survey stated that:- "most children in last year's cohort made more than expected or accelerated progress in most areas of learning," as a result of an:- 'Early Years Pupil Premium' funded programme.

A number of providers stated that the Early Talk Boost and Chatterjacks programmes in particular have improved communication and language skills. However, take up of the funding remains incomplete, with around a ⅓ of childcare providers surveyed by the Commission not receiving any 'Early Years Pupil Premium' funding. Those providers are aware of eligible children who were not claiming the extra funding, and 1 of the main reasons for this is due to a lack of awareness amongst parents that they are able to apply for it.

The Commission announces 2 moves to help counter this low rate of take up. It has:-

As an immediate move, urged every local authority to use their benefits data automatically to register eligible families for this additional support, before the full Universal Credit service arrives. As a longer term measure, requested that the Minister of State for Digital develop a new digital charter to counter child poverty and equalise life chances. This would enable improved sharing of data between providers and local authorities, once Universal Credit has been rolled out, so that all eligible children automatically benefit from 'Early Years Pupil Premium' and free school meals.

The Commission's Chair, Frank Field MP said:- "We are clearly seeing improvements in a child's development where the Early Years Pupil Premium funding has been claimed. The early years are a critical time during a child's development and the funding provides opportunities that can be life changing. Whilst the money isn't necessarily visible to parents, it does benefit their child, so it's vitally important that parents of eligible children apply for it."

In the meantime, the Commission is urging parents to apply now so their children can benefit from this additional support. To find out more about eligibility, or to apply for funding, parents can contact their Nursery or Childminder in the first instance. Further information about the Early Years Pupil Premium Fund is available from local Family Information Services.  Cllr Andy Moorhead, Portfolio Holder for the Liverpool City Region Health, Adult and Children's Services added:- "Our priority is to ensure children across the Liverpool City Region get the very best start in life and Early Years Pupil Premium funding can provide additional support and resources to accelerate a child's development. I would urge any parent to speak to their childcare provider to see if they are eligible and ensure the funding is claimed; if we don't claim, someone else will!"