Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted
Actively encourage Safer Streets Fund bids for shop worker safety, setting this as a future priority.
Recommendation
We welcome the additional money available to local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners to spend on preventative measures via the Safer Streets Fund. However, we note that none of the funding rounds have placed any emphasis on preventative measures for violence and abuse towards retail workers. We recommend that the Home Office make clear that they welcome bids to the current Safer Streets Fund for measures that will improve the safety of shop workers, and actively encourage local councils, communities and business partnerships to draw up bids which directly tackle violence and abuse in retail settings and on high streets. We also recommend that a future round should set this as a priority. (Paragraph 96) The role of employers
Government Response Summary
The government stated that it has already made clear the Safer Streets Fund welcomes bids for measures improving shopworker safety, with the second round expanded to include commercial areas, and the third round (Autumn 2021) will have a broader focus on reducing violence.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
At the time of the HASC inquiry, the bidding process was underway for the second round of the Safer Streets Fund. The first round of the Safer Streets Fund in 2020/21 was aimed at preventing acquisitive and neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary, robbery, and vehicle crime. Funding was provided to 35 Police and Crime Commissioners to invest in a range of physical and situational crime prevention measures, such as alleygating, CCTV, street lighting and home security, across 52 high crime areas (evidenced to be disproportionately impacted) in England and Wales. The Safer Streets Fund round two was launched on 26 January 2021, and the deadline for placing bids was 25 March 2021. This second Safer Streets Fund was expanded to allow Police and Crime Commissioners and Local Authorities, across England and Wales, to invest in a wider range of crime hotspot areas, including commercial areas, such as busy high streets, and more disparate rural locations. Successful bids for round two were announced on 3 June 2021 and funding has been allocated to 50 projects. Of these projects, 23 identified that their interventions would tackle crime in a commercial setting. Four projects with funding totalling £1,726,000 have identified they will exclusively focus on commercial settings, just shy of 10% of the total funding of Safer Streets round two allocated. These projects include interventions such as: Business Watch; providing crime prevention advice and equipment to businesses; improving local CCTV and street lighting; and proving environmental improvements (such as the removal of graffiti and improving plantings). Funded interventions are expected to help improve security on highstreets to increase safety for all, supporting and empowering communities and businesses. This Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and communities respond to the impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak. Now more than ever, it is vital we continue to help our local economies by supporting town centres and high streets to recover, adapt and evolve. The Government is providing longer-term structural interventions and funding to support high streets and town centres, including through the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund which will support communities across the country. On 15 July 2021, the Government published its long term plan to support the evolution and regeneration of high streets: Build Back Better High Streets which will help create jobs and build more resilient local economies and communities as we begin to recover from the impact of coronavirus. On 19 May 2021, the Communities Secretary announced confirmation of funding for all 57 places that previously received provisional offers from the Future High Streets Fund in December 2020. In total, 72 places will share over £830 million from the Future High Streets Fund. All 72 places are beginning to deliver their ambitious plans, which will support their towns and high streets to reopen and recover from the effects of the pandemic. The Government is also providing support to local leadership with a High Streets Task Force, giving high streets and town centres expert advice to adapt and thrive. Over five years this is providing hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and to connect local areas to relevant experts. The High Street Task Force, hosted by a consortium led by the Institute of Place Management, is also providing training and help to improve coordination between different groups working to improve their high streets. On 20 March 2021, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced the next 70 local authorities that will receive targeted, in-person support from high street experts. This support will include a one-day diagnostic visit by a Task Force expert and, depending on the result of this diagnostic, may then include further support through expert advice on a specific issue, such as planning or design, workshops to develop a high street’s vision, and mentoring or training. This builds on the Task Force’s offer to all local authorities and place leaders, which includes online training modules, data dashboards, webinars and a repository of best practice and research at https://www.highstreetstaskforce.org.uk/. Places can register to be kept up to date with High Street Task Force products and find resources and webinars to support their Covid-19 recovery on their website https://www. highstreetstaskforce.org.uk/. What do retail workers want?