Risk assessments are an important aspect of planning any off-site visit. They provide evidence that the risks, and benefits, have been considered and that adequate and proportionate control measures are in place. Visit Leaders should view the risk assessment process as a valuable element of their planning and ensure that where possible it involves all participants.
Risk assessment should focus on significant and foreseeable risks, rather than on those that are trivial or the result of over-protectiveness. Exposure to real risks should be offset against the benefits of undertaking the visit. It does not require the use of technical formulae, and professional health and safety expertise should only be needed in the more complex or specialist cases.
