UKHospitality has welcomed the Government’s commitment of additional funding to provide safer public spaces for women. The trade body has also reiterated its, and the sector’s, commitment to ensuring that the safety of customers and staff is rigorously upheld.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “We welcome the fact that this issue is being addressed by the Government and that funding will be forthcoming to ensure that spaces are made safer for women.
“It should be highlighted that the hospitality sector already works incredibly hard on this issue. We have numerous partnership schemes in place to ensure the safety of customers on a night out. Schemes like Best Bar None, Pub Watch, Drinkaware and Ask for Angela have been adopted by the sector to ensure that safety is central to the running of businesses. UKHospitality is a signatory to the Women’s Night Safety Charter and we engage regularly with the Mayor of London’s Office to make sure that nights out are fun and safe. The welfare of our customers and our staff is a priority.
“In recent years, our businesses have invested considerable sums of money in their security and surveillance to ensure that venues our safe. This must be matched by resources on the streets from local police and other civic bodies.
“That does not mean we can relax our efforts. We must continue to work hard to provide safe environments and we will regularly review our practices to see how we can be even more effective. We will be in contact with Thames Valley Police to learn from their experiences from Project Vigilant and share best practice throughout the industry, and to share our own expertise. It is critical that all stakeholders are involved in making our streets safe for everyone.”
For more information on hospitality partnership schemes please visit
https://www.nationalpubwatch.org.uk/
https://www.goodnightoutcampaign.org/
https://www.met.police.uk/AskforAngela
