Policies and Code of Conduct

Complaints policy

The Marlborough Literature Festival (LitFest) aims to provide a high-quality experience for everyone involved with the festival, but sometimes things go wrong. We are sorry if this has happened and will do our best to address your concerns fairly and as quickly as we can and put things right for you. We will also try and learn and improve from the points you raise.

What to do if you want to complain

If you are unhappy with our service please raise the matter as soon as you can with one of our committee members. During the festival you will be able to identify them through their LitFest badges. They can also be contacted through the Box Office in the Town Hall. They will try to resolve the problem there and then if possible. If you feel this is difficult or inappropriate then please contact the Company Secretary, Kathy Crossfield. You can email: kathy.fraser@btopenworld.com or write c/o Bridge House, High Street Avebury SN8 1RF.

What happens
Stage One

All complaints made in person or by phone (whether resolved or not) will be recorded in the Incident Book. This is kept at the Box Office during the festival and by the Company Secretary outside the festival period. We will record your name and address and contact details and note your relationship to the festival (eg: audience member, volunteer, author) and the nature of your complaint. Whether or not your complaint was resolved at the time, it will be reported at the next committee meeting. If the complaint is not resolved and where appropriate we will ask you to follow up with a written account by email or post so that the complaint is conveyed in your own words. We will explain what will happen next in writng with a copy of the Complaints Policy usually within two weeks. An appropriate person will be delegated to review and resolve your issue. This is normally the Company Secretary, or a member of the committee not involved with the incident. If the complaint involves a specific person they will be informed and given a fair chance to respond. We aim to provide a definitive reply within four weeks. This will describe what action was taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions and any action proposed or taken. If it’s not possible to resolve the issue within four weeks we will write to you with a progress report and an indication of when you will receive a full reply.

Stage Two

If you feel the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved then you can ask for the matter to be reviewed by the Chair of the committee. The Chair will review the investigation and conclusions and may re-investigate themselves or delegate to another member of the committee who was not involved with the incident. We aim to provide a definitive reply within four weeks, describing the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions and any action taken as a result. If this is not possible, we will provide a progress report and an indication of when you will receive a full reply.

The Chair will report the outcome to the full LitFest committee. The decision at this stage is final unless the LitFest committee decides it is appropriate to seek external assistance to resolve the issue, in which case we will explain what will happen next and why.

Variation of the procedure

Exceptionally, the LitFest committee may vary the procedure for good reason, for example if there is a conflict of interest. If this happens we will explain why the change has been made and what will happen. It is also possible that we cannot deal directly with your complaint if there is an issue within a venue we are using or related to an organisation or person not directly managed by LitFest. In these cases, we will try to learn from your experience and adjust our approach to external organisations as appropriate. The LitFest committee will be unable to deal with the complaint if it is made anonymously.

Confidentiality

All complaints will be handled sensitively, telling only those who need to know and in accordance with our Privacy Policy. The Committee’s annual review of complaints and any learnings from them will be aggregated (when possible) and anonymised.

Our aims

Our priority is to resolve your issue as quickly and fairly as we can and to repair any relationships that may have been damaged. We also want to learn from what happened and improve in the future.

We have designed this policy to:

  • Provide a fair approach that is clear and easy to use.
  • Publicise the existence of our procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint.
  • Make sure everyone involved with LitFest knows what to do if a complaint is received.
  • Ensure that we review the procedure and any complaints received annually.

 

Policy last reviewed in March 2026

Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Committee of The Marlborough Literature Festival (Lit Fest) operates this Privacy Policy because we are committed to safeguarding the privacy of those who communicate with us and of those who use our website, and the confidentiality of any information that we collect about you.

It sets out how we will use any personal information that we may obtain from you and (if applicable) any person providing us with a reference about you. If we change any of the terms of our Privacy Policy we will post the revised policy on our website at www.marlboroughlitfest.org

Whenever you submit your information to us, whether it be by using our website, by email, by post, over the telephone, in person or by any other means, you are consenting to our collection and use of such information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

We are committed to ensuring that all personal information we hold is treated properly and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

1. What information do we collect, how do we use it and periods of storage?

We will store personal information for the following periods:

General mailing list: until you unsubscribe from the list or advise us that you wish your personal data to be erased or the email address or posal address you gave us no longer works. This is to maintain contact with you to give you information about LitFest.

Friends mailing list: personal information will be re-created once a year. Personal information in relation to ticket purchases will be retained year on year by TicketSource to assist you in purchasing future tickets unless you have requested erasure of that information.

Gift Aid: If you make a donation or are a Friend of LitFest and supply us with information to enable Gift Aid to be claimed, we will retain that information for as long as is necessary to comply with the requirements of HMRC. If you correspond with us using email about other matters, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses in order to manage your relationship with us.

2. Accuracy, Inaccuracy, Erasure and Unsubscribing

Every email we send to those on the general mailing list and on the Friends mailing list contains a link to enable you to unsubscribe. We will use our best endeavors to see that the personal information we collect will be accurate. Where we know it to be inaccurate, we will correct it (if we have the correct information). You can tell us of any inaccuracy (and give us the correct information) in relation to your personal data by email and we will ensure that that it is corrected. You can also request by email that personal information we hold be erased. In each case we will take action without unreasonable delay.

3. Third Parties

We will share personal information about you with third parties who are directly involved in any enquiry for insurance and auditing purposes, where we are legally required to do so, to protect our rights, property or the safety of our committee members or others, or where we have stated otherwise on our website.

4. Security

We will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information. However, the internet is global and no data transmitted via the internet can be guaranteed by us to be completely secure during transmission. We cannot guarantee the security of any data that you disclose online and we will not be responsible for any breach of security unless this is due to our negligence or willful default.

5. Access to your information/Queries

You have a legal right to request details of the personal data (as defined under the Data Protection Act 2018) that we keep about you, subject to certain exemptions. Requests for such information and any queries regarding our Privacy Policy should be made in writing to the Company Secretary, Kathy Crossfield. You can email kathy.fraser@btopenworld.com or write c/o Bridge House, High Street, Avebury SN8 1RF.

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, we follow security procedures in the storage and disclosure of your information. We may therefore request proof of your identity before disclosing certain information to you.

6. Cookies

The only cookies used on the website are those which are strictly necessary. If this changes we will develop a separate cookie policy.

7. What about third party websites that you can access via our website?

Our website may contain links to other websites (including TicketSource) which are outside our control and are not covered by this Privacy Policy. If you access other websites using the links provided, the operators of those websites may collect personal information from you which will be used in accordance with their respective privacy policies which you should read. We are not liable for the practices of such third party website operators in respect of your personal information.

Policy last reviewed in March 2026

Safeguarding Policy 

The safety of children and vulnerable adults is paramount and without exception they all have the right to protection from abuse. Suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately. All members of the Festival’s committee and volunteers have a responsibility to report concerns. For the purposes of this document children are regarded as any persons under the age of 18 years.

The Festival Environment

The Marlborough Literature Festival aims, in so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a safe environment for all those involved in Festival events, Minors and other members of vulnerable groups must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or carer, unless otherwise stated in the programme.

Festival Personnel

All Festival Committee members have been made aware of and support this
Safeguarding Policy.
During all Festival events:

  • Festival Committee members will wear badges or lanyards to identify them.
  • At least one steward will attend each event
  • Where there is more than one steward, one person will be designated as organiser and will ensure that a record is made in the Incident Book at the Box Office of any incident involving a child or vulnerable adult.
  • In the case of a problem, any Festival committee member can be approached and will be able to identify someone who can help.
  • An Organiser should contact the Box Office or Green Room for support if required.

Any problem will be taken seriously and will be documented and dated. Depending on the nature of the problem, the incident will be reported to the relevant body If parents/ guardians/carers are not personally attending the festival with their child/ren/vulnerable adult, it is required that they make satisfactory arrangements to ensure that their child/ren will be adequately supervised by responsible adults acting on their behalf.

THE FESTIVAL MAKES IT CLEAR THAT ITS VOLUNTEERS DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CHILDREN OR MEMBERS OF VULNERABLE GROUPS AT THE FESTIVAL

A number of events are held in the week the Festival is running, and at other times throughout the year, at local public spaces. Where those are held at such public spaces or other outside venues, the Festival Committee and any volunteers at the event will have regard to the welfare of children or vulnerable adults, but the responsibility for their welfare with remain with those accompanying them and who have responsibility for them.

Recording and Photography

During the Festival photographs may be taken for use in publicity by press or the organisers (providing that the subject has no objection to these actions, being photographed)

The Festival cannot take responsibility for the general public taking photographs during events.

Policy last reviewed in April 2026

Equality, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Who and what is covered by this policy?

This policy sets out the Marlborough Literature Festival’s (MLF) commitment to ensuring that anyone who encounters it is treated with warmth, dignity and respect irrespective of who they are and what protected characteristics they may have.

The policy applies to anyone who is involved including trustees, directors, committee members, volunteers, authors and their representatives and members of the audience as well as donors and Friends of the Literature Festival and contractors.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to uphold the Equality Act 2010 and ensure that all individuals who encounter MLF are treated fairly and equally and that MLF provides a space free from harassment, bullying and discrimination.

MLF will ensure that it is aware of situations where the organisation and individuals may exhibit bias and prejudice – both conscious and unconscious – and take steps to prevent or rectify this.

Trustees and members of the MLF Committee (The Committee) will be engaged in the development and implementation of this policy to ensure that equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (EEDI) are promoted in the Festival’s activities.

The policy
  • Everyone should treat each other equally and with dignity and respect and uphold the values of the policy when representing MLF in person or on social media.
  • MLF encourages trustees, committee members and volunteers to communicate the terminology that describes them and expects others to respect and use that terminology (e.g. by using preferred pronouns – she/her, he/him, they/them and so on).
  • Any breaches of this policy (including but not limited to acts of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation) will be regarded as misconduct and will be subject to MLF’s Complaints policy and could lead to dismissal
  • All members of the Committee will be given a copy of this policy and it will be available on its website
Diversity monitoring
  • MLF will annually monitor the declared ethnicity, gender, disability and age composition of trustees and participants and take any possible appropriate action to address issues that may be identified because of the monitoring process.
Policy monitoring
  • The Committee will discuss progress against the policy at least annually and act if needed.
  • The Committee will review any complaints or suggestions received and identify any institutional barriers and steps that can be taken to overcome them.
 
Definitions

This policy refers to equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (EEDI). A definition of each of these words is below.

  • Equality means equal opportunities to be involved and fairness for The Committee, volunteers, authors and their representatives and members of the audience as well as donors and Friends of the Literature Festival and contractors.
  • Equity refers to providing various levels of support and assistance, depending on specific needs or abilities, to achieve real equality.
  • Diversity is the range of people at MLF. For example, this might mean people of different ages, religions and ethnicities, people with disabilities and people of specific gender or with no gender identity. It also means valuing those differences such as people’s background, education, where they are from, what languages they speak, their accent and their personal experiences.
  • Inclusion means everyone feels valued and safe to come up with different ideas, raise issues and express their views.  MLF will consider your personal circumstances, beliefs and values along with any conditions that need to be accounted for to make you feel included and welcome.
 
What is meant by ‘protected characteristics’ ?

The term ‘protected characteristics’ used in this policy refers to those outlined in the Equality Act 2010, namely: race, sex, marital or civil partnership status, maternity and pregnancy, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and religion or belief.

Current equality legislation and associated codes of practice have been considered within this policy.

What type of bias are we talking about?

MLF wants to ensure that it avoids being an organisation that is unconsciously and unintentionally ethnocentric (evaluating other cultures according to the standards and customs of your own), androcentric (focussing on men and their needs above others), heteronormative (promoting heterosexuality as the preferred sexuality) and ableist (discriminating against people with disabilities based on the belief that those without disabilities are somehow superior).

This means that MLF doesn’t want to do anything that may negatively impact people of a particular ethnicity, those with disabilities, individuals of a certain gender or sexuality, those from a specific socio-economic or educational background, those for whom English is their second language and so on. MLF will use its best endeavours to recruit people from a range of backgrounds and experiences to The Committee and that it is as diverse and representative of the people it serves as it can possibly be.

Last reviewed in April 2026

Code of Conduct

This code of conduct applies to all those involved in the festival. 

  • Welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities.
  • Be considerate when making any decisions that may affect another individual.
  • Avoid behaviour that may be considered insulting or exclusionary. Absolutely no threats of violence or abuse.

This code will be reviewed annually by the LitFest Committee. 

Last reviewed in June 2026

Safety of Venues Policy

Introduction

Martyn’s Law (officially titled the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025) which came into force on 3rd April 2025 is designed to strengthen how public venues and event spaces (amongst others) prepare for and respond to the threat of terrorism.

It introduces a framework of security duties for businesses, venue operators, etc to help to protect the public. The law will become fully operational by 2027 and will be regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Who does it apply to?

The new law can apply to both premises (eg theatres, sports venues), and outdoor events where members of the public have access. The law is divided into two tiers:

• Standard Tier: Applies to venues with a capacity of 200-799 people.
• Enhanced Tier: Applies to venues and events with a capacity of 800+ people.

The Marlborough Literature Festival (LitFest) does not have its own premises but uses a number of venues around Marlborough. As none of the venues currently used by LitFest has a capacity of 800+ people, the Committee is only concerned with the standard tier. Certain premises are excluded but that does not apply to those we use.

Any venue we use with a capacity of over 200 people will have a “responsible person” who has control of the premises, who is to ensure

• The premises are notified to the SIA (once that body is fully operational).

• There is in place appropriate public protection procedures in place in the event of a terrorist incident, such as evacuation strategies, plans to block certain entrances/exits (eg having someone manning doors) and ways of providing information to those in the building (eg brief announcements at the beginning of events).

There is no requirement for “standard premises” to put in place physical measures. The requirements are focused on simple, low-cost activities such as those listed above.

Conclusion

• In operational terms, we will liaise with the responsible person at any affected venue to ensure we, and any volunteers, know what is expected at each venue.

• Even though the majority of the venues we use are not caught by the Act, we will have regard to it for each venue we do use as appropriate.

Policy last reviewed in March 2026