City bosses in Newcastle have been urged to deliver cast-iron assurances that funding for women’s safety initiatives will not be cut. Councillors heard concerns this week that the expected scrapping of the Late Night Levy could have a damaging impact on the safety of women and girls on Tyneside.
Levy funded safety measures
The levy is an annual fee of up to £4,400 charged to Newcastle pubs, bars, and clubs with a licence to sell alcohol between midnight and 6am. More than £3 million has been collected since its introduction in 2013, which has been used to pay for initiatives including extra police patrols, taxi marshals, the Safe Haven van on the Bigg Market, and sexual harassment training.
The charge is expected to be scrapped next month, following concerns about the financial pressure facing the hospitality sector. Speaking at a full Newcastle City Council meeting on Wednesday, resident Marley Nellis said that the move had sparked serious concerns over the financial sustainability of “critical” city centre safety initiatives.
Calls for legally-binding guarantees
She called on the Lib Dem-led authority to put in place “legally-binding, long-term funding guarantees” to ensure that the safety measures are not subject to future budget cuts. If councillors do vote in October to scrap the levy, it is expected that the council and city centre business improvement district company NE1 Ltd would set up a new fund to match the finances being lost and dedicated towards the kind of safety measures that the levy has funded.
Owen Burbidge, the council’s cabinet member for inclusive economy and skills, argued that the new model would give city authorities greater control over funding for safety measures to “use this money more efficiently and continue to deliver what we know already works”. He added: “Funding for initiatives, including those that support the safety of women and girls, will remain at the same level as last year and continue to remain above the statutory provision. And the funding we see going into the replacement for the Late Night Levy will not be reduced under the proposed governance with NE1.”
Concerns over 'warm words'
Ms Nellis replied: “Newcastle’s reputation relies on the protections we have put in place. Any change to this funding formula potentially puts our safety at risk. All we have heard tonight is warm words, which will not do anything to allay the worries of many like me. What we want to hear about is the legally-binding, long-term funding solution that guarantees women’s safety initiatives will continue to be a priority for the whole city.”
NE1 chief executive Stephen Patterson previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that there would be no decline in safety if the levy is removed. He said last month: “More than that, we want to improve safety. We want to make it better. I can absolutely say without a shadow of a doubt that ourselves, the council, and the police are committed to ensuring that there is no degradation in the safety of the city centre.”
