Christopher BarrettWith the introduction of a Primary Authority having met with resistance in some quarters, an online survey has been launched to gauge opinion.
To discuss the Event Industry Forum’s (EIF) proposed introduction of a Primary Authority initiative linked to its Purple Guide, stakeholders took to the main stage at the Event Production Show to explain why they believe it will benefit the events industry. The conference session can be viewed below.
EIF has now launched the survey to assess whether there is support from the event industry to establish a Primary Authority agreement around guidance.
It said the Primary Authority initiative aims to create a more consistent approach to managing outdoor events through coordinated guidance interpretation. Applying the Primary Authority scheme to the Purple Guide would be a new step as it would be the first time it is applied to a guidance document, rather than legislation.
If supported, the Primary Authority would only be available to subscribers of the Purple Guide. Initially the scheme would only operate in England, but EIF said the intention is to expand it throughout the UK. In England, the scheme would operate in collaboration with Brighton & Hove Council.
Brighton & Hove Council outdoor events development manager Ian Baird said, “We believe a Primary Authority scheme would improve national conversations to encourage consistency and, thereby, help organisers operating across multiple local authorities. It will also help local authorities benchmark to ‘reasonable’ requests, with an arbitration process.
“The scheme would also help the publishers of the Purple Guide to keep its guidance up-to-date and relevant as practices across the industry evolve.”
The survey can be found here.