{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"Jennie Price, Chair of the Board  | Matt Hyde, CEO | Carl Hankinson, UK Chief Volunteer","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWe take the conclusion of the inquest extremely seriously. We would like to restate our wholehearted apology to the Leonard family. Both for the death of their Ben, and for the anguish we recognise they have experienced over the past five and a half years. It was not the intention of anyone at Scouts to contribute towards any further pain, but we recognise that we have caused further distress and for that we are truly sorry. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EKeeping young people safe from harm remains our number one priority at Scouts. As an organisation we are committed to learning. As a result of Ben\u2019s tragic death in 2018, we have already made \u003Ca href=\u0022/information-for-parents/keeping-children-and-young-people-safe/how-we-do-things-safely/\u0022 title=\u0022How we do things safely\u0022\u003Emany changes\u003C/a\u003E to our risk assessments, safety rules, training and support we give our volunteers, and we are now going further.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EThe inquest and HM Coroner\u2019s Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report have led to significant reflection at the Scout Association. We have extensively discussed what they mean with our Board of Trustees and wider stakeholders. They have rightly dominated our thinking and we pledge that they will continue to do so. As a result, we are proposing fundamental changes to our approach to safety throughout Scouts. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EWe have addressed the concerns of HM Coroner in our response to the PFD notice. Within our response we outline the actions we have taken since the inquest, the actions we will take, as well as the actions we have taken since Ben\u2019s tragic death in 2018.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis response further builds on the work we have undertaken after receiving the Prevention of Future Deaths notice in February 2020, and the further update provided in February 2021 to HM Coroner.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\u0022\u003EScouts\u2019 response has been published by the Chief Coroner\u2019s Office. There are more than 25 key actions that we will be undertaking, which will be detailed in a publicly available action plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003ESome of the actions mentioned below are already in progress and we will work to support our members on the remainder of the significant changes over the coming months.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E1.\u003C/strong\u003E A \u003Cstrong\u003EFatal Accident Investigation Panel for Ben\u2019s death\u003C/strong\u003E, with an external chair and independent panel members, was initiated within 48 hours of the conclusion of the inquest and is due for completion in June. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2. \u003C/strong\u003EA \u003Cstrong\u003ECritical Incident and Investigation Policy\u003C/strong\u003E and a \u003Cstrong\u003EDuty of Candour Policy\u003C/strong\u003E will be agreed by the Board in July, with these principles immediately implemented. This will provide a consistent framework in how we respond in future to serious incidents, emphasising the need for transparency and to quickly capture learning. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E3.\u003C/strong\u003E We are commissioning a \u003Cstrong\u003Enew strategic partnership with a nationally recognised organisation that is a leader in safety\u003C/strong\u003E to review our current safety practices, and this party will act as a third-party reviewer. We anticipate that this partnership will be in place by the end of May and an initial review will be completed by October. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E4.\u003C/strong\u003E We are commissioning \u003Cstrong\u003Eenhanced supplementary safety training and validation for all 145,000 volunteers\u003C/strong\u003E. This will become available from September 2024 with a target completion within the following six months. This is designed to further support volunteers, ensuring that everyone at Scouts understands what the safety requirements are, and that we all have the required competencies and knowledge in relation to risk assessments, terrain definitions, and requirements within our Policy Organisation and Rules (POR). \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E5. \u003C/strong\u003EWe are investing in several new systems and resources that will transform access to information and monitoring. These include:\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EA \u003Cstrong\u003Enew, movement-wide assurance framework\u003C/strong\u003E to support our local leaders, and monitor and audit compliance, including in relation to safety.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdditional staffing resource\u003C/strong\u003E to support areas of safety, adventurous activities, training support, and local compliance.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EThe implementation of a \u003Cstrong\u003Enew approach to the auditing of adult training, including the provision delivered by County Training Managers\u003C/strong\u003E under our new Audit and Assurance approach.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWe\u003Cstrong\u003E are undertaking a full review of permitting\u003C/strong\u003E.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EA \u003Cstrong\u003Enew Learning Management System and training packages\u003C/strong\u003E, which will provide significantly enhanced role-specific training, including compliance data for volunteers and volunteer management roles across the movement.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EA \u003Cstrong\u003Enew Adult Membership System\u003C/strong\u003E that will give greater access to key information and transform how we assess, approve, and audit our Nights Away Application processes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur PFD response includes our delivery plan to ensure our response to Ben\u2019s death is more than words. We want the changes, undertaken and planned, to enable the thousands of volunteers delivering Scouting to continue safely doing so.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe will publish our progress against the plan on a quarterly basis in 2024 as part of our commitment to transparency and accountability. This will be available from \u003Ca href=\u0022/about-us/our-impacts-and-reports/\u0022 title=\u0022Our impacts and reports\u0022\u003EOur Impacts and Reports on Scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E. We will then include ongoing updates on progress as part of our new annual Safety Report.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe understand our response must be more than a plan; it must be a comprehensive response to this tragedy, and a significant moment in our history that leads to an overhaul of our culture and systems.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs leaders of the Scout movement, we want to state our commitment to ensuring that this is a transformative moment for Scouting at all levels. We are committed to learning, being honest and transparent, and building the trust of parents, young people, and wider stakeholders so that we remain true to our values of integrity, respect, care, belief, and co-operation.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/iullsxwj/signatures.png","width":1179,"height":301,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 May 2024","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Our response to the inquest outcome","url":"/news/2024/february/scouts-response-to-inquest-outcome/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Learn about safety and safeguarding at Scouts","url":"/information-for-parents/keeping-children-and-young-people-safe/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Discover how we do things safely","url":"/information-for-parents/keeping-children-and-young-people-safe/how-we-do-things-safely/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":79345,"nodeName":"Scouts responds to Prevention of Future Death report","title":"Scouts responds to Prevention of Future Death report","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/6490/fdl-homepage.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd0c842420","caption":"FDL Homepage","type":"jpg","size":93039,"width":1268,"height":664,"altText":"The Scouts Fleur in purple"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Scouts responds to Prevention of Future Death report","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"A statement from Jennie Price, Chair of the Board  | Matt Hyde, CEO | Carl Hankinson, UK Chief Volunteer","browserTitle":"Scouts responds to Prevention of Future Death report","silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83OTM0NSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2024/may/scouts-responds-to-prevention-of-future-death-report/"}