Petition Keeping Our Young People Safe - Oppose the Repeal of the Adventure Activities Licensing Act

On 22 March 1993 Claire Langley, Simon Dunne, Rachel Walker and Dean Sayer, pupils from Southway Comprehensive, Plymouth, tragically lost their lives whilst kayaking on a school trip organised by the St Alban’s Activity Centre.
In response to that, and other tragedies, in 1995 “The Activity Centres (Young Person’s safety) Act gained Royal Assent. The Government are proposing to abolish this act and instead introduce a voluntary code of practice for adventure activities. We believe that learning outside the classroom should be supported, unhelpful processes removed but that sustained increased participation is only possible when underpinned with an effective quality safety framework .
Parents and schools will not be assured by measures they believe incapable of deterring those who would cut corners and therefore call on the Government to retain some form of compulsory licensing of these activities.