THE family of a boy who fell to his death while on a Explorer Scouts trip in Llandudno has called for The Scout Association (TSA) to name the “third party reviewer” which is to scrutinise its safety practices.
Ben Leonard, 16, of Stockport, suffered fatal head injuries when he fell about 200ft after slipping on the Great Orme on August 26, 2018.
On February 22, after a seven-week inquest, a jury concluded that Ben was unlawfully killed by the trip’s Explorer Scouts leader, and assistant Explorer Scouts leader, contributed to by neglect by TSA.
David Pojur, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, then issued a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report, comprising 39 different areas of concern.
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TSA’s response to the report was published last week, and mentioned that it is commissioning a new “strategic partnership” with a “nationally recognised organisation that is a leader in safety”.
This organisation, whose identity was not disclosed, will act as TSA’s “third party reviewer”, with the hope that this partnership will be in place by the end of May, and an initial review completed by October.
The response from TSA also apologised to the Leonard family, and also outlined the numerous changes it is looking to make following the inquest.
Tom Leonard, Ben’s brother, and Harriet Salvesen-Sawh, a solicitor for the Fieldfisher law firm which represented the Leonards at the inquest, said that the “third party reviewer” should be named.
“They mentioned a third party reviewer, but who is it?,” Tom said.
“My biggest worry is that, in all the time it takes for change to happen, another child’s life could be left to fate.
“I know change isn’t going to happen overnight, but I don’t think change is going to happen at all if they’re still allowed to self-regulate. To us, it feels like things are not moving as they should be.
“The question that kept cropping up for us was: ‘How are you going to be implementing these things?’
“It’s an institution that’s in charge of children. These things should be in place already. It should not have taken several children’s deaths to get to this stage.”
In March, Tom and his family started an online petition calling for a public inquiry into TSA, which has garnered more than 2,500 signatures - www.change.org/p/public-inquiry-needed-into-the-scouts-association-and-why-they-should-be-regulated.
He said he and his loved ones are having to place “blind faith in them (TSA) to do the right thing”, and hope that the planned changes mentioned in the response were not “lip service”.
“There’s only so much my mum, my dad and I can do; it’s just hard,” said Tom, who is “rebuilding my life” following the inquest’s conclusion.
Harriet Salvesen-Sawh added: “The response from TSA acknowledges failings it spent so long denying.
“Despite this, we are concerned about the internal implementation of the proposed changes.
“The identity of the third party reviewer should be disclosed so that it is open to scrutiny by those who want to see change.
“What is clear is that there is a lot of work to be done and an independent deep-dive into safety practices at TSA should occur that is not limited to Ben's tragic death, to ensure that all Scouts are safe in the future.”
When asked by the Pioneer if it could share the identity of the “third party reviewer”, TSA referred to a statement from Jennie Price, chair of TSA’s board; Matt Hyde, outgoing TSA chief executive; and Carl Hankinson, UK chief volunteer.
Extracts from the statement read: “Our PFD response includes our delivery plan to ensure our response to Ben’s 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.
“We 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 Our Impacts and Reports on www.scouts.org.uk. We will then include ongoing updates on progress as part of our new annual Safety Report.
“We 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.
“As 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.”
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