Health and safety changes urged

Town halls which wrongly ban events and activities on health and safety grounds could face big compensation payouts under plans being considered by the Government.

Emergency workers and teachers are also set to be freed from rules which say someone must be held to account for everyday mishaps and accidents.

The moves are among proposals to curb the excesses of the health and safety culture which have been drawn up by Tory peer Lord Young at David Cameron's request.

His review has concluded that local authorities that wrongly try to block events on health and safety grounds should be forced to pay compensation.

He also found that there should be a crackdown on advertising encouraging people to make personal injury claims on a no-win, no-fee basis.

The review says that red tape that can prevent children from going on school outings should be scrapped and people performing first aid or Good Samaritan acts should be exempted from being sued.