Download original attachment
(PDF file)

This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Requesting Liverpool City Council's own findings and results from the Hope and Glory Festival'.



Enquiries to:  
Information Team 
Our Ref:  
 
Various References 
 
 
    
Dear Mr Egglesden, 
 
 
 
 
Freedom of Information Requests 
 
I write further to a number of recent information requests which you have submitted 
through the ‘WhatDoTheyKnow’ website, all on matters relating to the Hope & Glory 
Festival. Our apologies for the brief delay whilst this information was collated.  
 
In order to provide a comprehensive response to the issues which you have raised, w e 
are providing a single combined response to your requests. This response addresses the 
questions which you have raised within the following Information Requests, Reference 
No’s – 
 
 
550736 
 
550752 
 
555140 
 
555620 
 
557791 
 
557793 
 
557795 
 
557969 
 
557971 
 
The following questions were submitted –  
 
1. 
I would like to request the agreed plans of the Hope and Glory Festival, with the 
roles or job title of individuals concerned and present, at each of the planning 
stages. 
 
2. 
The roles or job title of individuals concerned that signed off the plans, and what 
the plans were that had been approved. 
 
3. 
The roles or job title of the people present at Hope and Glory festival site, as a 
representative of the council, before the site opened on Saturday 5th August 
morning. 
 
4. 
The roles or job title of the individuals, if any, that cancelled the festival and at 
what point. 
 
5. 
The funds that were paid to the council to allow the Festival to take place. 
 
6. 
The funds that the council paid to enable the Festival to take place. 
 
7. 
The roles or job titles to whom and monies were paid 
 
8. 
I would like to request a copy of the plans for the Hope & Glory festival that were 
initially submitted to Liverpool City Council, and what requests for changes LCC 
put forward. 
 
  Liverpool City Council Information Team 
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS 
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 

9. 
I would also like to request a copy of any plans that were resubmitted to LCC for 
the Hope & Glory festival and what changes were requested to those. 
 
10. 
Finally, I would like to request any restrictions that LCC had applied in regards to 
Hope & Glory Festival. 
 
11. 
Could you please provide me the minutes from the SAG meeting, and also any 
related documents that pertain to the SAG meeting of the Hope & Glory Festival 
2017 
 
12. 
Could you also please provide the details of how it was evidenced that any 
advisories made at the SAG meeting were actually carried out by the organisers. 
 
13. 
Could I please request a copy of the independent inquiry report that was provided 
by TESS (The Event Safety Shop) regarding the Hope & Glory Festival 2017. 
 
14. 
I would like to request the Liverpool city's council's own inquiry report from  the 
Hope and Glory Festival 2017. 
 
15. 
I have requested the TESS report under a previous FOI. So I would like to request 
council's report made from the results of TESS's findings that was released to the 
public on 06th October 2017 
 
16. 
I would like to request all the documents and council interview statements relating 
to the council's own inquiry of the Hope and Glory Festival 2017. 
 
17. 
Furthermore, I would like to request the documents submitted for public viewing 
relating to the Hope and Glory Festival 2017. 
 
18. 
I would like to request all the JAG meeting reports from the Hope and Glory festival 
2017. This will be all the meetings that took place and the full reports and 
documents relating to them. 
 
19. 
I would like to request copies of the Risk Assessments for the Hope and Glory 
Festival 2017. These should include any initial Risk Assessments carried out by 
the organisers and any blue light services involved, as well as any carried out by 
Liverpool City Council themselves. 
 
20. 
I would like to request the minutes and documents relating to the first detailed JAG 
meeting on 31st January 2017. This should include all documents relating to that 
meeting, on that date. 
 
Response: 
 
Liverpool City Council confirms that it holds information relevant to the terms of your 
request, our responses being as follows –  
 
1. 
A copy of the final Event Management Plan for this specific event is appended to this 
response and which provides the requested information (Appendix 1).  
 
2. 
There was no sign-off of the plan nor was there any requirement for sign-off. The plan 
was viewed by members of the JAG and subsequently the event was discussed at 
the SAG. There is no record of who attended the JAGs as they are a meeting run by 
  Liverpool City Council Information Team 
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS 
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 

the event organiser/manager and as such the City Council does not hold any 
information. SAG attendees are listed on the minutes, copies of which being 
appended to this response and referenced at (11) below. 
 
3. 
Two Regulatory Compliance Officers from the Licensing Authority attended on the 
morning of the event to check compliance with premises licence conditions only. 
Details of additional Officers present are set out within the report produced by The 
Event Safety Shop as a result of its Independent Inquiry, as commissioned by the 
City Council. 
 
4. 
The event was cancelled by the Event Manager Lee O’Hanlon overnight 
Saturday/Sunday. Council Officers subsequently held a meeting on the Sunday and 
agreed that the event could not continue in the absence of the Event Manager. As 
such and agreed procedures to safely close the event space down.  
 
5. 
None.  
 
6. 
The City Council did not contribute financially towards enabling this event to take 
place.   
 
7. 
Not applicable.  
 
8. 
A generic premises licence was already in place for the location at which it was 
proposed to hold the event, which had been granted in 2016 to Liverpool City 
Council, details of which are already in the public domain and which may be 
accessed via the following weblink –   
https://licensing.liverpool.gov.uk/PAforLalpacLIVE/1/LicensingActPremises/Search/34
96/Detail?LIC_ID=23111   
 
As such Hope & Glory never applied for a licence nor was there any requirement to 
do so as the necessary permissions were already in place. To clarify, the organisers 
of Hope & Glory applied solely to use the land for purposes of the event.  This was 
governed by a separate agreement solely in respect of the land use and which is 
included within the Independent Inquiry Report. 
 
9. 
A copy of the final Event Management Plan for this specific event is appended to this 
response (Appendix 1) and which formed part of the Independent Investigation 
Report as produced by The Event Safety Shop and commissioned by the City 
Council. Previous versions have not been retained as these are not required for any 
operational purposes. A generic premises licence was already in place for the 
location at which it was proposed to hold the event the conditions of which applying 
to any events held on the subject land and which had been granted in 2016 to 
Liverpool City Council – details of which are already in the public domain and which 
may be accessed via the following weblink –   
https://licensing.liverpool.gov.uk/PAforLalpacLIVE/1/LicensingActPremises/Search/3
496/Detail?LIC_ID=23111    
 
10. 
A copy of the final Event Management Plan for this specific event is appended to this 
response (Appendix 1) and which formed part of the Independent Investigation 
Report as produced by The Event Safety Shop. Previous versions have not been 
retained as these are not required for any operational purposes. A generic premises 
licence was already in place for the location at which it was proposed to hold the 
event the conditions of which applying to any events held on the subject land and 
  Liverpool City Council Information Team 
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS 
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 

which had been granted in 2016 to Liverpool City Council – details of which are 
already in the public domain and which may be accessed via the following weblink –   
https://licensing.liverpool.gov.uk/PAforLalpacLIVE/1/LicensingActPremises/Search/34
96/Detail?LIC_ID=23111   
 
The event organiser therefore did not apply for a premises licence in this instance. 
Each event held on the land would however be required to be supported by an Event 
Management Plan, this being the individual event organiser’s document and being 
event specific. A copy of the relevant Event Management Plan has been appended to 
this response (Appendix 1).  
 
11. 
Please refer to the appended Minutes of the SAG, as held on 15 February, 19 April, 
21 June and 19 July 2017 (Appendix 2). No further documentation is held by the City 
Council.  
 
12. 
The SAG is a multi-agency meeting administrated by Liverpool City Council. The 
core decision making is carried out through the JAFG process which is chaired by the 
Event Organisers as opposed to the City Council. The SAG adopts a smart approach 
due to the high volume of events. We do not hold details of the advice provided at the 
meeting. 
 
13. 
The report produced by the independent inquiry was published on the 6th October.  
Please refer to the appended report (Appendix 3) which may also be accessed via 
the following weblink – http://liverpool.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-events/events/review-
into-the-hope-and-glory-festival/ 
 
14. 
The City Council did not conduct its own inquiry. The City Council commissioned an 
independent report, which was carried out by The Event Safety Shop and published 
on the 6th October 2017.  This needed to be independent to reflect the independent 
nature of the JAG and SAG which, while being co-ordinated by Liverpool City 
Council, is owned by the event organiser and includes a wide range of agencies.  
Liverpool City Council does not have any other report. 
 
15. 
The main objective of commissioning the report, and using an independent agency 
was to enable lessons to be learnt from the issues surrounding this event.  The City 
Council, alongside all the participants in the JAG and SAG, will consider the report 
produced by The Event Safety Shop while carrying out their functions.  
 
Although the relevant procedures had served the city well for the past ten years, the 
context and environment for staging events has changed in recent years.  Therefore, 
the report and recommendations will now be used as an opportunity to reflect on the 
processes and procedures that are in place.  
 
The findings of this report will enable the City Council to work with partners to put in 
place enhanced planning procedures for events which will find the right balance 
between scrutinising documents and not making the process too bureaucratic for 
private sector organisers who want to hold events in the city. 
 
16. 
The City Council did not conduct its own inquiry. The City Council commissioned The 
Event Safety Shop to undertake an independent inquiry. In conducting its 
independent inquiry, representatives of The Event Safety Shop interviewed relevant 
individuals by telephone and in person and made notes to aide in the preparation of 
their subsequent Investigation report as now published – no written statements were 
  Liverpool City Council Information Team 
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS 
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
 
 

produced or submitted in this regard. As such this information is not held. 
 
17. 
JAG Meetings are held and organised by Event Managers as opposed to the City 
Council and as such this information is not held by the City Council.  
 
18. 
JAG Meetings are held and organised by Event Managers as opposed to the City 
Council and as such this information is not held by the City Council.  
 
19. 
Risk Assessments undertaken by the Event Managers and Organisers relating to the 
event are contained within the Event Management Plan, a copy of which being 
appended to this response for your reference. No further information is held by the 
City Council.  
 
20. 
JAG Meetings are held and organised by Event Managers as opposed to the City 
Council and as such this information is not held by the City Council.  
 
This concludes our response. 
 
In accordance with the application of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we 
have not provided all of the information requested. As such we are required to serve you 
with a Section 17 Notice which this letter is to be regarded as. 
 
The City Council will consider appeals, referrals or complaints in respect of your Freedom 
of Information Act 2000 and you must submit these in writing to 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx within 28 days of receiving your response. 
 
The matter will be dealt with by an officer who was not previously involved with the 
response and we will look to provide a response within 40 days. 
 
If you remain dissatisfied, you may also apply to the Information Commissioner for 
a decision about whether the request for information has been dealt with in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
 
The Information Commissioner’s website is  www.ico.gov.uk and the postal 
address and telephone numbers are:- 
 
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, 
Cheshire SK95AF.  Fax number 01625 524 510, DX 20819, Telephone 01625 
545745.  Email – 
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx (they advise that their email is not secure) 
 
I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.  
 
Yours sincerely 
 A Lewis 
Angela Lewis 
Information Team 
 
Enc.  
  Liverpool City Council Information Team 
Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool, L3 1DS 
E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx