The Smiler crash report and investigation

The request was refused by Health and Safety Executive.

Dear Health and Safety Executive,

I am interested in the causes and factors contributing to the Smiler rollercoaster crash at the Alton Towers theme park in June. More importantly, I am interested in the issue of ride safety at theme parks.

As such, I would like to see a copy of the accident report/s made by either HSE or Alton Towers. I would also like to see the findings of the investigation that concluded that the ride crashed due to “human error.”

I believe it is in the public interest to read the above mentioned report/s given the severity of the injuries received during the crash. Public safety is of imperative importance; as such, the public should be able to access the findings of the investigation and/or the accident report so that they can make informed decisions about whether theme park rides are safe.

Yours faithfully,

Miss R Dinning

Health and Safety Executive

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Thank you for contacting the Health and Safety Executive.

Health and Safety Executive

Miss R Dinning

 

 

 

Our Ref: 201602278/MLS

 

 

Dear Miss Dinning

 

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 201602278

 

Thank you for your request for information about:

 

The HSE report of the incident on the Smiler Ride at Alton Towers

 

Your request was received on 17^th February 2016 and I am dealing with it
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act).

 

I can confirm that HSE holds information about this incident. However, the
incident is currently under investigation and action arising from the
investigation has not yet been completed.

 

The information is therefore exempt from disclosure under section 30(1)(b)
of the Act (investigations and proceedings conducted by public
authorities) in that it is information held by HSE for the purposes of an
investigation which may lead to a decision to institute criminal
proceedings.

 

Public Interest Test

 

The exemption relied on is a qualified exemption that is subject to the
public interest test. This means HSE has to balance the public interest
factors favouring disclosure against those favouring non-disclosure. In
this case, I have considered the following factors in favour of
disclosure:

 

             Promote transparency and build public confidence in HSE’s
investigative process;

             Secure the health and safety of employees and
others;           

 

And the following factors in favour of non-disclosure:

 

o Impede an ongoing investigation by hampering the gathering of
information and evidence;
o Inhibit HSE’s ability to conduct further investigations effectively
because, for example, third parties may be less willing to volunteer
information to HSE if information is disclosed inappropriately;
o Reduce the chances of a successful prosecution should the
investigation conclude that this course of action is appropriate;
o Unfair in cases where a decision is taken not to proceed to
prosecution.

 

After careful consideration, I believe that the public interest in not
disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it,
because of the adverse impact it would have on the ability of HSE to
conduct investigations generally and this investigation in particular.

For your information, the Information Commissioner has considered, and
supported, a previous refusal by HSE to disclose information in the course
of an ongoing investigation in a Decision Notice dated 4 February 2010
(ICO reference FS50223414). Although necessarily based on the facts of the
case in question and considered under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 rather than the Act, the Decision acknowledged the
prejudice that disclosure of information could cause to HSE’s functions
and recognised that very considerable weight should be given to the public
interest in maintaining the exemption in such circumstances. Decision
Notices are available on the website of the Information Commissioner’s
Office (see below).

One consequence of the statutory time period in the Act for responding to
requests is that HSE does not allow your request to lie ‘on file’ until
the investigation is completed. I would therefore suggest that, if you
still require the information, you make a further application in 2 month’s
time.

 

All requests received following the completion of the investigation will
be dealt with under the terms of the Act and any exemptions considered
accordingly.

 

If you wish to see a copy of the investigation report carried out by Alton
Towers themselves you will have to write to them separately.

 

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are unhappy with the decisions made by HSE you may ask for an
internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter by
writing to me.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700

Fax: 01625 524510

Email: [1][email address]

Website: [2]http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Mrs Marcia Shallcross

FOI Officer

 

 

 

 

HSE

 

Hornbeam House

Electra Way

Crewe

CW1 6GJ

 

TEL: 01782 602300

Working Pattern: Monday - Thursday

 

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References

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Ian Jackson left an annotation ()

I have made another request for this report:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...