SAGs are usually co-ordinated by a Local Authority (LA) and made up of representatives from the LA, emergency services, other relevant bodies and the event organiser. They may be event or location specific but otherwise tend to be based on LA boundaries.
SAGs provide a forum for discussing and advising on public safety at an event. They aim to help organisers with the planning, and management of an event and to encourage cooperation and coordination between all relevant agencies. They are non-statutory bodies and so do not have legal powers or responsibilities, and are not empowered to approve or prohibit events from taking place. Event organisers and others involved in the running of an event, retain the principal legal duties for ensuring public safety.
Event organisers should determine whether there is a SAG, or similar arrangements, in the relevant area and if appropriate, submit their event proposal for discussion and advice. Attendance of the event organiser at SAG meetings may be voluntary. There is however benefits to be gained from engagement in the SAG process from the outset. LAs may of course require events organiser's attendance eg as a condition of using their land.
Discussions may extend beyond an organiser's duty to comply with workplace health and safety law and even the boundaries of an event site, to include considering the impact on the local transport network and civil contingencies in the event of an emergency. The advice provided by the SAG and any decisions taken should be proportionate to the risk profile of the event.
The SAG should advise the event organiser about public safety matters that they think need further consideration, explaining their reasons. It is the event organiser's responsibility to take any appropriate action. On the rare occasion where there is disagreement between a SAG and the event organiser, and there remains a genuine risk to the public, individual organisations on the SAG such as the police, may decide to act to resolve the issue. Decisions on the use of these powers are matters for the relevant authorities to consider, not the SAG and should be discharged separately.
When SAGs consider events where LAs have responsibilities, eg as an organiser / co-organiser or landowner, the SAG should make the relevant LA department aware of any concerns so that they can act accordingly. An LA cannot rely on the SAG process to discharge its own legal duties. This is the responsibility of the LA. This will include decisions regarding the granting of public entertainment licenses and road closures.