Councillors have approved plans that will make Wokingham’s night time economy a safer place.
At its recent full council meeting, new licensing policies were approved that included several safeguarding provisions that will be mandatory for new applications, as well as for renewals of existing licence applications.
Cllr Ian Shenton, executive member for environment, sport, and leisure, said: “Wokingham Borough Council has developed a licensing policy that helps promote responsible business.
“Licensing is a key function of the council; to help reduce anti-social behaviour and encourage safe events through co-ordinating multi-agency and safety advisory group meetings.”
The new policy details how it is expected that applications outside of the hours of 10am until 10pm must sufficiently demonstrate, and subsequently comply with, measures to promote the licensing objectives.
One significant change is the requirement for license holders to adopt a ‘Get Me Home Safe’ campaign to extend an employers’ duty of care to embed safe transport home policies for all workers.
The campaign is motivated by an incident that occurred in August 2021, where a woman was sexually assaulted on her way home from work after midnight.
She had been asked by her manager to work until 1am and was promised paid transport home because the last bus was at half past midnight.
An hour before her shift ended, her manager told her she could finish earlier to catch the last bus home.
That bus never arrived, and left to travel home alone late at night, she was sexually assaulted.
New applications and renewals seeking licensable hours past 11pm are now expected to put provisions in place for staff working past 11pm, by identifying workable solutions to facilitate safe travel home, such as supplemented taxi travel for late shift workers.
Upon application, all licence holders must now provide a risk assessment that includes an individual staff member’s journey times, and potential hazards, once they have left the workplace.
Applicants will also be expected to adopt the ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign.
It started in 2016, and is used by bars and other venues to keep people safe from sexual assault by using a codeword to identify when they are in danger or are in an uncomfortable situation.
When an establishment uses this program, a person who believes themselves to be in danger can ask for Angela, a fictitious member of the staff.
Licence Holders must make training compulsory for every member of staff, and ensure they will feel confident knowing what to do if asked for ‘Angela’.
The adoption of the new measures was proposed by Cllr Sarah Kerr and seconded by Cllr Rachel Burgess.
Cllrr Kerr emphasised the statement of licensing policy was an update on best practice, and she praised officers for the proactive stance that they took regarding licensing.
