Terms and Conditions

Terms & Conditions of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and

other expedition leadership by Learning Outdoors for individual participants

 

1. Definitions
   • In these Terms and Conditions, the following words and expressions will have the meanings assigned to them in this clause.
     • Agreement: means the legal agreement between You and Hampshire County Council on the terms set out in these Terms & Conditions.
     • Data Protection Legislation: means all applicable data protection and privacy legislation in force from time to time in the UK including the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 (and regulations made thereunder) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) as amended and the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner or other relevant regulatory authority and applicable to a party.
     • DofE: means The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
     • Expedition: means an Expedition that is run and organised directly by Us including any activities undertaken during that Expedition.
     • Force Majeure Event: means a circumstance outside of either party’s reasonable control, including without limitation epidemic or pandemic, terrorist attack, armed conflict, commotion, riots, nuclear, chemical or biological contamination, sonic boom, any law or action taken by a government or public authority, collapse of buildings, fire, explosion, accident, and interruption or failure of utility services, but excluding labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action, lockouts.
     • Learning Outdoors: means the department of Hampshire County Council with overarching responsibility for arranging, co-ordinating and administering The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expeditions.
     • Personal Data: is defined in Data Protection Legislation.
     • Services: means the Expedition you have booked with Us.
     • We: Hampshire County Council, represented by Learning Outdoors. “Our/Ours” shall be construed accordingly.

 

• You: means the individual booked for an Expedition, where this individual is over 18 or the parent or guardian of the individual booked for an Expedition, where this individual is under 18. “Your/Yours” shall be construed accordingly.

• The headings in these Terms & Conditions are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of the terms.
• Where the context requires, words importing the singular meaning shall include the plural meaning and vice versa and words denoting the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neutral genders and vice versa.

2. Our Agreement with You
   • By booking an activity with Us, You agree to comply fully with these Terms & Conditions.
   • We reserve the right to amend the booking if necessary to comply with any applicable legal requirement, including, where applicable, the terms and conditions of DofE, or if the amendment does not materially affect the nature or quality of the Services. We will notify You of any amendment.
3. Our responsibilities
   • We will:
     • supply Our Services to You using reasonable care and skill, in accordance with these Terms & Conditions and the law;
     • ensure that all Expeditions have been assessed to minimise the risk of accidents;
     • provide one or more qualified expedition supervisor(s) who:
   • are confident working within the venue and terrain where the Expedition is to take place;
   • hold a valid first aid certificate;
   • have had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check undertaken; and
   • have completed safeguarding training.
     • tailor the ratio of expedition supervisors to the number of participants, in line with any applicable guidelines set out by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) or any successor licensing authority;
     • provide water and equipment in line with clause 8;
     • maintain adequate insurance commensurate with the nature and extent of the risks associated with the performance of Our obligations under this Agreement;

• provide a copy of relevant insurance documents and operational policies, including accident, incident and emergency procedures, requested no later than eight weeks prior to the Expedition;
• provide individual feedback to You at the end of the Expedition;
• if applicable, complete and upload DofE Assessor’s Report, as required by DofE; and
• use reasonable endeavours to provide specific staff requested no later than eight weeks prior to the Expedition.

4. Your responsibilities
   • You will:
     • make all the payments due to Us in accordance with clause 5 of these Terms & Conditions;
     • provide all medical information required by Us in advance of the Expedition and advise Us immediately of any changes to it. A link to the medical form is included in the booking confirmation email you will receive at the time of booking.
     • provide the name of a person who will be available in the event of an emergency;
     • ensure that You (or Your child, if applicable) are/is aware of and comply with the Risk & Safety and Food & Equipment requirements set out in these Terms & Conditions or communicated to you by Us separately;
     • if applicable, comply with any requirements imposed by DofE on participating individuals, whether communicated by Us or DofE directly; and
     • accept the charges applicable in the event of cancellation set out in these Terms & Conditions and are advised to arrange appropriate insurance against cancellation.
     • Where a participant is under 18 years old, medical forms must be completed by their parent/guardian.

5. Charges and payments
   • Your or Your child’s (as applicable) participation in the Expedition is conditional on You making all payments in accordance with the payment schedule set out at the time of booking. If no payment schedule is specified, the full price is payable at the time of booking.
   • If You fail to make any instalment payments in accordance with the agreed payment schedule and do not remedy the failure promptly on receiving a written reminder from Us, We may cancel your place on the Expedition. In such cases, We reserve the right to retain any amounts already paid to cover Our reasonable costs incurred in preparing the Expedition or any losses suffered by Us due to the cancellation of Your place.

 

6. Changes to the schedule and cancellations

Changes and cancellations by Us

• We will use reasonable endeavours to meet any performance dates agreed at the time of booking but You accept that any such dates are estimates only and You agree that time is not of the essence for the performance of the Services.
• We reserve the right to change the location, route and/or schedule of the Expedition or cancel the Expedition in response to adverse weather, safety concerns or a Force Majeure Event.
• We will use Our best endeavours to notify You of any changes to the location, route and/or schedule of the Expedition, where practicable. However, You acknowledge that changes may have to be made directly before or during the Expedition when prior notification would not be practicable.
• If the Expedition is cancelled under clause 6.2, You may choose to rebook a new Expedition at no extra cost except for Our reasonable expenses incurred in organising the original Expedition. If rebooking is in our reasonable opinion not suitable, We will consider a partial refund based on costs saved and losses avoided.
• If there are insufficient participants for the Expedition to take place, Your booking will be cancelled and You will receive a full refund. We will endeavour to provide six weeks’ notice of such an event and otherwise notify You as soon as reasonably practicable.

Cancellation by You

• All cancellations must be made by email to LOT@Hants.gov.uk.
• You may cancel Your booking subject to the notice periods and charges set out in clause 6.8.
• You acknowledge that We need to make preparations well in advance of the Expedition and that the notice periods and charges set out below are reasonable: 

Notice period	Charges due to us if you cancel Your booking
12 weeks or more prior to the start of the Expedition	10% of the Expedition price
6-12 weeks prior to the start of the Expedition	50% of the Expedition price
Less than 6 weeks	The Expedition price

 

 

• Refunds to be processed on the card used to make the  online payment.  If this is not possible, the Centre will issue a refund cheque.
• HCC will endeavour to process refunds within five working days

7. Risk and safety
   • You acknowledge that the Expedition is physically challenging, that it carries with it risks that We cannot entirely eliminate and that You or Your child (as applicable) may be unaccompanied for extended periods of time. In the absence of any negligence or other breach of duty by Us, participation in the Expedition is entirely at Your risk.
   • You acknowledge that, while we reserve the right to exclude from the Expedition any participants who in Our reasonable opinion are not fit to safely participate, We are not qualified to express an opinion that You or Your child (as applicable) are fit to safely participate. It is Your sole responsibility to seek professional medical advice as appropriate.
   • Without prejudice to clause 7.1 and 7.2, We will monitor the conditions throughout the Expedition to assess variable hazards including the weather, the environment and participants’ fitness. If We, in Our sole discretion, decide that continuing the Expedition is unsafe then the provisions of clause 6.2 will apply.
   • Your or Your child’s (as applicable) participation in the Expedition is conditional on the successful completion of any necessary training required by Us.
   • We reserve the right to exclude You or Your child (as applicable), if You or Your child (as applicable):
     • are/is not sufficiently prepared, fit or physically able to take part in the Expedition;
     • are/is under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
     • repeatedly refuse(s) to follow instructions or behave in an irresponsible manner that is likely to endanger Yourself/themselves or others; or
     • are/is abusive, aggressive or violent.
   • The decision as to the preparedness, fitness and ability of a Participant will be taken at Our sole discretion and will be final.
   • No refund will be available if You or Your child are/is excluded (and any unpaid charges will continue to be due), unless We reasonably determine that it is appropriate to waive any charges.

 

• If Your child is excluded, You must collect them without delay on being notified of the exclusion. If You fail to do so, You will be required to cover Our reasonable costs and foreseeable losses arising as a result of this failure.

8. Food and equipment
   • You acknowledge that You or Your child (as applicable) are expected to be self-sufficient and have enough food for the duration of the Expedition as well as two litres of water.
   • We will supply additional water, but no other food or drink will be supplied.
   • We will supply equipment, including maps, compasses, tents, Trangia-type stoves and gas for the collective use of the participants (“Group Equipment”) and supervise its use. The Group Equipment supplied by Us will remain the property of Hampshire County Council.
   • You or Your child (as applicable) will undergo training in the safe use of the equipment and will be expected to act in accordance with any instructions regarding safe use of equipment provided during the training or outside of the training.
   • You must ensure that You or Your child (as applicable) have/has appropriate footwear, waterproofs, sleeping bag, warm clothes, appropriate rucksack, waterproof liners and any other kit specified by Us (together “Individual Equipment”).
   • We may, at Our sole discretion, endeavour to provide You or Your child (as applicable) with any Individual Equipment that is missing or unsuitable but We are under no legal obligation to do so.
   • If a You or Your child (as applicable) do/does not have any part of the Individual Equipment, We will determine whether You or Your child (as applicable) may participate in the Expedition. Our decision will be binding and final. If You or Your child (as applicable) are/is excluded from the Expedition under this clause, You or Your child (as applicable) will be considered an Excluded Participant for the purposes of clause 7.7.
   • After an event, any personal items found will be retained for a minimum of two weeks, after which they will be disposed of.  You should contact us at LOT@hants.gov.uk within this period.
9. Data Protection
   • We will process all Personal Data provided by You in accordance with Data Protection Legislation and our Privacy Notice available at Hampshire Outdoor Centres | About the Council | Hampshire County Council.

 

10. Liability
    •  Nothing in this Agreement will exclude or limit the liability of either party for:
      • death or personal injury;
      • fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
      • breach of the terms implied by section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982; or
      • any liability that cannot legally be limited.
    • We will not be responsible for any theft, damage, destruction or loss of Your or Your child’s (as applicable) property or belongings or the property or belongings of any third party, unless such theft, damage, destruction or loss is a direct consequence of Our negligence.
    • You will be liable and indemnify Us for any loss of or damage to Our equipment provided for the purposes of the Expedition, whether wilful, negligent or accidental, unless caused by our own staff.
11. Termination
    • Without affecting any other right or remedy available to it, either party may terminate this Agreement subject to at least four weeks’ written notice.
    • If You terminate this Agreement in accordance with clause 11.1 above, your booking will be automatically cancelled and clause 6.8 will apply.
    • Without affecting any other right or remedy available to it, either party may terminate the Agreement with immediate effect by giving written notice to the other party if:
      • the other party commits a material breach of this Agreement and, if such breach is capable of remedy, fails to remedy it within 14 days of receiving written notice requiring it to do so; or
      • the breach occurs within 14 days of the start of the Expedition and, due to the proximity to the Expedition, the terminating party has reasonable grounds to consider the breach incapable of remedy.

If We terminate the Agreement under this clause, You will be deemed to have cancelled the Expedition and clause 6.8 will apply with the charges payable under that clause in addition to any other sums We may be entitled to by way of remedy.

• On termination or expiry of this Agreement, You must immediately:
  • pay any outstanding charges due; and
  • return all equipment and any other property provided by Us.

 

• Termination or expiry of the Agreement shall not affect any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities of the parties that have accrued up to the date of termination or expiry, including the right to claim damages in respect of any breach of the Agreement which existed at or before the date of termination or expiry.

12. General
    • We may subcontract or delegate any or all of our responsibilities under the Agreement to a reputable third party.
    • Confidentiality and freedom of information
      • Subject to clause 12.2.2, each party undertakes that it shall not disclose any confidential information concerning the affairs of the other party for any purpose other than to perform its obligations under the Agreement.
      • You acknowledge that We are subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
    • Except as set out in these Terms & Conditions, no variation of the Agreement will be effective unless it is in writing and signed by the parties.
    • Price Changes
      • HCC endeavour to keep published prices and other information up to date and reserve the right to alter them at any time
      • At the time of processing the booking, you will be informed of any price changes or other relevant changes and given the opportunity to cancel without penalty.
    • Force majeure. Neither party will be liable for any delay or failure in performing any of its obligations for so long as and to the extent that the delay or failure results from a Force Majeure Event, provided that the affected party notifies the other party in writing as soon as practicable and uses all reasonable endeavours to mitigate the effect of the Force Majeure Event on the performance of its obligations.
    • A waiver of any right or remedy under the Agreement or bylaw is only effective if given in writing and shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent right or remedy. A failure or delay by a party to exercise any right or remedy provided under the Agreement or by law shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor shall it prevent or restrict any further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
    • If any provision or part-provision of this Agreement is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed deleted, but that shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of this agreement.

 

• Third party rights. This Agreement does not give rise to any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of the Agreement.
• Governing Law and jurisdiction. This Agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), is to be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law, and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

 

March 2026