Agenda item

Student safety

EM asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

What is the Council planning to do about the recent incidents of students being spiked via injection in clubs?

Councillor David Mellen replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor and can I thank the member of the public for their question about the recent reports of spiking via injection in Nottingham clubs.  These reports, I’m sure Council would agree, are alarming and I have discussed them with both the Chief Constable and the Senior Police Officer in the City, Superintendent Kathryn Craner, as the Police have the primary responsibility for dealing with these criminal acts.  In addition, as key partners with the Police, the Council is doing everything possible by working closely with them and the City’s hospitality venues to investigate and confirm the facts about these cases.

Councillor Neghat Khan (Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion) and colleagues in the Community Protection Licensing Service have been working to make sure that licensed venues are supporting the Police and that any criminal behaviour is identified and quickly reported. The Council encourages people to promptly report concerns to the venue and the Police if they feel that an incident has occurred, or they have just seen something suspicious. The Council supports the position that women should feel safe in any environment and especially in the night time economy settings. My colleague, Councillor Khan, will cover this area in more detail in her reply to Councillor Watson’s question later in the meeting. Clearly, this is not just a Nottingham problem or indeed one which is restricted just to the UK. We here in Nottingham will play our part in seeking to stamp out this criminal and dangerous behaviour.

John Carroll Leisure Centre

SH asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Schools:

What plans are there for the future of the premises of the John Carroll Leisure Centre? Could you address local concerns about littering and general misuse of that area?

Councillor Eunice Campbell-Clark replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor. The Council has continued discussions with community groups around the use of the leisure centre and will shortly be reviewing all of the outcomes of the discussions and will decide the future of the site shortly. We will examine the issues of littering and misuse of the local area and will raise this as a matter of urgency with officers to look for solutions to the problems. We will continue to monitor this area Lord Mayor. Thank you.

National Leisure Recovery Fund

DC asked the following question of the Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Schools:
Did Nottingham City Council apply for emergency funding from the national Leisure Recovery Fund? If not, why not?  This funding may have provided John Carroll Leisure Centre with a much-needed lifeline pending ongoing discussions.

Councillor Eunice Campbell-Clark replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor. The Council was not eligible to apply to the national Leisure Recovery Fund as we operate our own leisure centres. The Recovery Fund was only for councils whose leisure centres that are managed by private operators or trusts.  It is quite often the case where private operators can access external funding that councils cannot do so.