Legislation does not specifically cover abseiling or rope access techniques unless it is a service provided to children for payment. However, if conducted as a work activity – for example as part of a production – the Health and Safety at Work Act and other legislation, such as the working at height regulations, apply.

For industrial purposes, IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trading Association) has developed and implemented schemes to regulate and control safety issues, and for recreational abseiling the governing bodies are Mountain Training UK and the British Mountaineering Council.

See below for productions’ and operators’ responsibilities and our checklist.