Nightclub Safety

Matt Western Excerpts

Monday 8th November 2021 Westminster Hall

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I will pick up on some of the points made by the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) and by my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi).

This has not come out of nowhere, but the incidence, escalation and scale of the issue are extraordinary. Although date rape drugging was on my radar—and, I am sure, that of many others—this sudden phenomenon of spiking through needle is a shocking escalation.

In terms of the wider issue, the figures obtained by the BBC back in 2019 showed an increase in recorded cases of drink spiking of more than 2,600 since 2015. This is a significant problem in our society. Just this week, Nottinghamshire police said that they had received a total of 15 reports of alleged spiking with a sharp object since 2 October. That is from a month ago, and that is just in Nottinghamshire. Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services has called violence against women “an epidemic”, and says that the authorities have to treat it with as much urgency as they fight terrorism.

I am sure that many of us will have been horrified by the incident in Texas, which illustrates that this is not just a UK problem. There is a phenomenon and copycat behaviour, as mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Gower, in terms of social media and how quickly these things get shared, perhaps among males, not just across campuses, towns, cities and countries but globally. In Texas, where eight people died and hundreds were hurt, police are investigating reports that somebody in the audience was injecting people with drugs, such that several concert goers had to be revived with anti-drug overdose medicine.

As of 23 October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council had collected 198 reports of drink spiking, in addition to the 56 reports of incidents involving a needle. This is not necessarily an epidemic at this stage, but it is a seriously concerning phenomenon. Freedom of information requests from “Sky News”, which were published back in 2018, found that reported incidents of spiking had doubled in the three years before. Although I do not have the data to hand and did not have time to put it all together, it is really alarming to see where this phenomenon is taking us.

[Rushanara Ali]

Does my hon. Friend agree that this problem has a new face to it but, as he has pointed out, it has been there in the form of drugs being used for rape? I have certainly come across examples in my constituency in the past. Does he agree that the use of needles adds another health dimension, with the potential spread of diseases such as HIV, and that hospitals need to respond to that risk as well? Does he agree that Universities UK needs to come together and address some of the challenges at university level in order to support students? Finally, does he agree that conviction is required for those who are perpetrating, and that we need to know what the police are being instructed to do by the Government in order to get a grip on this issue before more fatalities occur?

--- Later in debate ---

[Matt Western]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend that there is an urgent need for the data, which I think was mentioned earlier in the debate, but also for multi-agency meetings through the local authorities, the police, and universities—wherever. Some of the work being done by Devon and Cornwall police, which was discussed earlier, is really interesting. We as parliamentarians should certainly be pushing for that, but so should the Government be urging the Home Office to call on chief constables to work with local authorities, those on campuses, universities and further education colleges to lead on and to try to address this phenomenon.

It is certainly really alarming to the National Union of Students, which is rightly urging that any case needs to be investigated quickly and that the findings need to be shared across the country through different authorities, because there is an information vacuum at the moment. We just do not have the data, as has been discussed, and we need to know the scale of the problem, particularly with the spiking by injection that my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Rushanara Ali) referred to. Students across the country are understandably very anxious and are panicking about this issue. Some are taking extreme measures, in an effort to protect themselves when venturing out. The reports that we are getting are extremely horrifying and need investigating, but perhaps the NUS would be saying that we have to be cautious about measures to increase surveillance in clubs, because that can cause problems of its own.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

I apologise that I was not able to be present for the start of the debate—I was in a Delegated Legislation Committee.

Does my hon. Friend agree that in formulating a response to the reports of spiking by injection, and the impact that it is having on young women and their lives because of the fear that they feel, it is really important that the authorities, the police, our universities and our health service listen to young women and hear about the things that they want, the things that would allow them to feel safe, and the things that they want to hear about men changing their behaviour? This should not be about victims; it should be about changing the behaviour of perpetrators.

[Matt Western]

I absolutely agree with the point made by my hon. Friend: it is about changing behaviour among perpetrators and young men. Going back to the points that were made earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Florence Eshalomi), the problem absolutely starts at a very young age. We must change the norms of behaviour—certainly among young males—at a much younger age. She is right in the point that she makes.

I will move on to two examples; I did not want to take examples from across the country, but these are very real examples I have had to deal with through constituency casework, and so are specific to the University of Warwick, which is close to me. One constituent’s daughter was unable to seek urgent medical care, so had to travel to her home in Manchester, and go to Manchester Royal Infirmary, because she could not get the care that she needed locally. The hospital has implemented a separate pathway and recording system for spiking victims, so all credit that Manchester should have done that. Another student is currently in A&E at University Hospital Coventry, being treated for a suspected spiking with a needle. That is just in the last couple of weeks.

It is no wonder that the Girls Night In campaign quite rightly drew attention to this nationally. If we are to bring about change, we need to have an impact on the night-time economy, and we need people to wake up to the immediate urgency of this. I would echo the calls that I made earlier. It was interesting to listen to the point made about the work being done in Devon and Cornwall. If there is a chance of rolling that out, that would be terrific, but we need to quickly share that information. I hope the Minister will be listening carefully to this, because it does need leadership from the Government.

This is a terrifying phenomenon for young women, and it is leading to a real change of behaviour in our towns and cities. The Government and police need to get to grips with it very quickly, and ensure that the night-time industry meets with them and can bring about the changes that are needed. The NUS has called for greater training for staff, to understand and identify those visiting their nightclubs and so on, looking at alcohol vulnerability and the potential for sexual harassment and assault, with a focus on how to respond and intervene if incidents take place.

In my constituency, I want to pull together the police, the local authorities and the university, but also meet with a panel of young women to understand what is really going on. This is happening quickly, and it needs a response from Government. I really hope that they will look to work with all sectors to co-ordinate some sort of response, because this issue needs urgent leadership from them.