EDUCATION might have jumped the gun by telling schools to wait for a licensing system to be introduced before booking outdoor activities.

Chief health and safety officer Richard Brown said that there was no guarantee that the Health and Safety Executive would introduce one.

He said his department would wait and see the results of this month’s inspections of businesses offering activities before deciding.

‘I cannot begin to try and pre-empt what the results of the inspections will be so we cannot second-guess what we might need, or not need, to do,’ he said. ‘There are no guarantees that a licensing system will come in.’

Education sent a memo to schools stating that the executive was adopting the new licensing scheme and only two providers, Guernsey Sailing Trust and Coast and Crag, were approved by the department until a UK assessor carried out inspections at the end of April.

The department was criticised by Rob Kerry (pictured), a director of Outdoor Guernsey, and Jim Hughes, who runs the Guernsey Surf School, for its handling of the situation.

Both said they would consider legal action if they lost any business as a result.