A Personal View on Licensing SAVI

Mark Morgan, Licensing SAVI Business Manager, gives his personal view on the initiative.

‘We all enjoy time out with friends or family. A drink. A meal. A dance, karaoke or just a game of darts! These activities that we took for granted pre-pandemic seem more precious than ever today.

The hard-hit hospitality sector from bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants through to stadiums, arenas, theatres, hotels and guest houses, and sports and social clubs, deserve our support and consideration as their businesses start to recover.

To better understand this ‘semi-post pandemic’ marketplace, we commissioned a YouGov survey of 5,050 adults aged 18-45 in England between 16 August – 5 September. It found that adults feel significantly less safe in licensed premises now than they did pre-pandemic with those feeling most vulnerable being women and individuals from the LGBT and BAME communities.

It also highlighted the need for a safety award – and specifically, our own police safety award, the first of its kind, called Licensing Security & Vulnerability Initiative (Licensing SAVI), which was developed at the request of the Home Office by Police CPI, which works alongside the Police Service to reduce crime and build safer communities.

We are encouraging licensees to complete our Licensing SAVI on-line self-assessment, which brings together into one place for the first time all the information they need, such as management practices and operational security, to run a safe and secure venue. Licensing SAVI provides a Star-Rating and can go on to give a Licensing SAVI Award for display at venues and to use for marketing purposes to promote their business.

Venues can use Licensing SAVI as part of their business recovery plan and as a training tool for staff returning from furlough and the recruitment of new staff to replace those who have left.

We believe Licensing SAVI is the way forward for all types of venues who want to show customers how much they take safety seriously and want to re-build their businesses in a way that makes them safer for staff, customers and the local communities they serve.’

You can find out more about the assessment process, or undertake the Licensing SAVI self-assessment by clicking the button below: