More needed to keep Londoners safe on nights out

Following the Brixton Academy crowd crush on 15 December 2022, it was reported that some security guards regularly took bribes to let people in without tickets and that there were not enough security guards in place on the night of the tragedy ^[1].

The London Assembly believes that the Mayor and London Boroughs should do more to make sure licensing conditions for night-time venues in London are enforced and has today agreed a series of recommendations aiming to help keep Londoners safe on nights out.

This includes calling on the Mayor to instruct his Night Czar to invite all relevant stakeholders including the police, local authorities and the largest security providers to City Hall to discuss bribery allegations and what can be done to combat overcrowding in night-time venues.

Shaun Bailey AM, who proposed the motion, said:

“The tragedy at Brixton Academy must be a wake up call for night-time venues. While the police investigation into the incident is ongoing, it is vital that the Mayor and the Night Czar act now to ensure this never happens again.

”The Night Czar has recently been awarded a significant salary increase, which comes with increased responsibilities to serve Londoners. I am pleased that the London Assembly has approved my motion to call on her and the Mayor to work with all relevant parties to ensure best practice is followed, and to improve data sharing with boroughs so that licensing conditions can be more closely tracked.”

The full text of the motion is:

This Assembly notes with concern, the reports from a whistleblower in relation to the Brixton Academy tragedy on 15 December 2022. We further note that police investigations are ongoing as are formal inquiries into the tragedy, including a coroner’s inquest, which will establish the facts and must ensure this cannot happen again.

It was reported that some security guards at Brixton Academy regularly took bribes to let people in without tickets and that there were not enough security guards in place on the night of the tragedy ^[1]. This allegedly led to hundreds of additional people attending the venue which could have caused an unsafe environment by breaching capacity limits.

This Assembly notes the Economy Committee’s 2021 report, Night Vision, which raises concerns about staff shortages ^[2] and makes recommendations about the night time economy ^[3].

This Assembly believes that the Mayor of London should work with London Boroughs to do more to make sure licensing conditions for night-time venues in London are enforced.

The Assembly therefore agrees the below recommendations to help keep Londoners safe on their nights out and calls on the Chair of the Assembly to write to the Mayor with the following:

1. We recognise the Mayor is not the decision maker in licensing applications. However, given the convening role the Mayor can play, the Mayor should collaborate with London Boroughs and the existing work they are doing to keep an up-to-date register of all night-time venues, their capacities and licensing conditions.
2. The Mayor should instruct his Night Czar to invite all relevant stakeholders including the police, local authorities and the largest security providers to City Hall to discuss bribery allegations and what can be done to combat overcrowding in night-time venues.
3. The Night Czar should meet with all relevant senior officers and borough cabinet members in London responsible for licensing to find best practice ways of preventing overcrowding in venues.
4. The Mayor should release an update to his 2017 report ‘From good night to great night’ with additional sections on venue safety.
5. The Night Czar should outline best practice for night-time venues which is not currently enforced by statute.
6. The Mayor should write to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, asking the department to conduct a review of how licensing decisions and enforcement action are currently taking place in local authorities with a view to improve crowd management and public safety, including ensuring venues are safe spaces for women.