The hospitality and on-trade sector have welcomed the news that spiking of drinks will become a new standalone criminal offense, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated a vow to halve violence against women and girls.
The proposals will include training door and bar staff on how to spot and tackle spiking under new plans from the government.
An announcement from 10 Downing Street revealed the scheme will be piloted from next month to equip staff with the skills to prevent incidents, support victims and enable police to collect evidence.
This will be available for up to 10,000 bar staff across the country by spring 2025.
Lyle Bignon, NTE Ambassador for Birmingham, working on behalf of the Night Time Industries Association, said:
“We welcome this announcement from the Government, which demonstrates a clear commitment to ensuring better safety for women and girls in not just our industry but across society.
“Professionals working in hospitality and the night time economy already employ interpersonal and observational skills in their roles on a daily basis, and being empowered via the right tools to disrupt or prevent perpetrator behaviour and support victims will help to instil more confidence that people across the UK can enjoy their nights out free of worry.”
“Having the support of both the Prime Minister and today in Birmingham, Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding Jess Philips MP for the announcements is reassuring. We look forward to the initial figure of £250,000 for training must backed by more government investment over the coming months and years in consultation with industry bodies such as the NTIA.”
Peter Connolly, owner of community bar and music venue Nortons Digbeth, NTIA and Safer Dance member, said:
“We are already training our 32 members of staff, including management, door team and security, and bar staff, so that our customers feel even safer on their nights out with us.
“Industry initiatives like Safer Dance are helping us to improve our already robust policies around sexual harassment. Today’s announcement from the Government is encouraging, and we’re supportive of any support to improve the experience of our staff, contractors, and all who spend time in Nortons.”
“People shouldnt have to worry about these sorts of things happening, and if it means us going the extra mile then we’re happy to go above and beyond, in order to stamp out criminal behaviours such as spiking.”
Sam Hennerley, co-founder of Safer Dance an initiative tackling sexual violence across music and the NTE, said:
“Issues like harassment are sadly not just common but often expected within the night-time economy – this needs to change.
“Venues need to act and be trained effectively to combat and take action against dangerous and potentially life-threatening acts such as spiking.
“Ensuring the safety of women and girls is imperative for venues, and their need to actively commit to a collaborative approach in order to ensure this issue is combatted effectively.
“Safer Dance has applied a collegiate approach to tackle safety within the nighttime economy, and it is great to see UK Gov pursue this route with committed action from police, transport networks and venues to continuously improve.”
