Posted By Nicki I have offered H&S advice to my local village hall who are undergoing a major "re-fit". Risk Assessments on the hall have been completed without major problems except one. The hall is over twenty years old and has never had an electrical safety test performed. I checked with the LA and a 3-5 check should have been performed. The problem is that a "local" electrician has simply said "looks OK to me" and the committee have taken that as the testing. My question is, in this situation, a Village Hall, a registered charity, run by a committee, who has final responsiblity for H&S? Does anyone have any advice or experience of this type of situation. Regards Nicki

Posted By David J Bristow Nicki You say that the village hall is having major works undertaken and that you have offered advice with regards to risk assessments. Have you a signed document stating that the advice you have given is for them (the committee) to ensure is correct? If the intended works are so major then who is to undertake this work? Why have they not carried out risk assessments, method statements and safe systems of work? Will CDM Regulations apply? Who will have the responsibility of checking that those undertaking the works are - a) competent b) that all safety provisions are in place c) adequate insurances are in place etc etc Lastly as Paul wrote in his response, ultimately The Board of Trustees could be held responsible in the event of an accident or incident taking place. The Board of Trustees of The Science Museum were fined for breaches of Health and Safety when Legionella Bacteria was found in an air conditioning unit on a routine Health and Safety visit. Hope this helps David B

Posted By Jim McCulloch Suggest you look at INDG343 "Directors responsibility for health and safety." Page 4 Paragraph headed "WHO SHOULD READ THIS GUIDANCE?" defines the responsibility of the committee/board of management. HSG192 is excellent reading/info. for anyone involved in the voluntary sector. Hope this is of help to you. Jim