Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Accepted
Recognised criminal offence of spiking would provide multiple benefits
Conclusion
The existence of a spiking offence would not in and of itself stop spiking, but it would have several benefits. First, it would facilitate police work under way to identify perpetrators and patterns of offending by enabling the police to collect better data on the prevalence of spiking incidents. Secondly, it would act as a deterrent by sending a clear message to perpetrators that this is a serious crime which attracts severe penalties. And thirdly, victims would be more likely to report spiking it if it were a recognised criminal offence. (Paragraph 26) Preventing and deterring spiking
Government Response Summary
The government committed to reviewing the guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 to consider whether to require licensing authorities to address the prevalence, prevention, and reporting of sexual harassment, misconduct, and gender-based violence in their local licensing policies.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government continues to work with local areas to ensure that everyone is safe and secure in the night time economy. Our work to tackle violence against women and girls is continuing to drive momentum to improve the response to issues such as spiking and more widely. Over 2021–22, the Government invested £25m in round 3 of the Safer Streets Fund (SSF), which focused on reducing VAWG in public and improving feelings of safety for all, and £5m in the Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) fund. The £75m round 4 of the SSF also includes a focus on tackling VAWG in public spaces, as well as anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime. We plan to announce successful bidders for SSF Round 4 as soon as possible. We welcome the Committee’s suggestions on what more Government could do to augment ongoing work with local authorities. We currently collect statistics from local authorities every other year on authorisations and licensing authority powers under the Licensing Act 2003. Specifically, these include premises licences, club premises certificates, personal 3 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk) licences, late night refreshment, 24-hour alcohol licences, temporary event notices, early morning alcohol restriction orders, late night levies, and late-night refreshment exemptions. It also includes statistics on cumulative impact areas, reviews, hearings and appeals. We will explore with local authorities, licensing stakeholders and the Local Government Association whether data on licence reviews and revocations could be added to this report. Government Ministers wrote recently to remind licensing committees of their responsibilities and the powers that both licensing committees and the police have available to them to ensure licensed premises are managed responsibly and safely, and to encourage collaboration between local agencies to ensure that spiking is considered when assessing licence applications. We will continue to work with partners to ensure that education, awareness, and dissemination of new initiatives and existing good practice are shared widely. The Government accepts part three of the Committee’s recommendation and will review the guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 to consider whether we should require licensing authorities to consider the prevalence, prevention and reporting of sexual harassment and misconduct and gender-based violence in statements of local licensing policy.