SHERIFFDOM OF GRAMPIAN HIGHLAND AND ISLANDS AT ABERDEEN
Court ref: ABE-B723-24
RESPONSE
to the
DETERMINATION OF SHERIFF McCROSSAN
UNDER THE INQUIRIES INTO FATAL ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEATHS ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2016
IN THE
INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF MATTHEW PETER BURDEN

To the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
1. East Tillypronie Sporting Estates Limited, being a body to whom a recommendation under section 26(1)(b) was addressed, do respond as follows.

2. Recommendation 1 – In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:

(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is charged with the duty of checking the 7 day weather forecast as published on the Met office website in the 7 day period leading up to the date of shoots booked to take place on the estate, to include a record of all Police Scotland Weather Alerts issued in that same period; and to do so each day until the scheduled shoot in order that the estate has a working knowledge of the expected forecast for each shoot and can take timeous action to cancel or delay the start of a shoot in circumstances where it is not safe to proceed or for employees, staff or guests to travel due to adverse weather condition;
(ii) Response 1 - We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 1 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.

3. Recommendation 2 – In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:

(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is to be responsible on a weekly basis for ensuring that any employee having use of a company vehicle complete a form confirming any concerns with the condition of the vehicle;
(ii) Response 2 - We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 2 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.

4. Recommendation 3 – In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:

(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working to ensure that all employees while driving in the course of their employment use the seatbelts fitted to the vehicle.
(ii) Response 3 - We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 3 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.