Ask for Angela is a national, voluntary scheme, that helps anyone who is feeling vulnerable on a night out to get the support they need.
Customers can discreetly ask for help from a member of staff by asking for ‘Angela’ and they will receive assistance such as seeing the customer to a taxi, or if it is a serious safety issue, alerting venue security and/or the police.
Best Practice
However, the initiative is increasingly becoming placed as a condition of premises licences despite the fact it was launched as a voluntary, best practice initiative.
The scheme also came under fire in 2024 after a BBC investigation found that 13 of 25 pubs it visited failed to recognise the ‘Angela’ codeword.
In a recent article for the Morning Advertiser Poppleston Allen solicitor Elizabeth Vardy said: “It is important that operators implement the Ask for Angela initiative correctly to safeguard all who enter their premises.”
She added: “The scheme works by training staff in managing vulnerability on your premises, and what to do when someone asks for ‘Angela’. You may find it is a condition on your premises licence to partake in the Ask for Angela, or similar, initiative.”
Free training
Licensing solicitors Poppleston Allen is running a free training event for venues in Nottingham to help them understand how to deal with vulnerable customers and how to use ‘Ask for Angela’.
Licensees and staff in Nottingham can get the opportunity to attend a free session on Vulnerability in Licensed Premises and Ask for Angela workshop on 12 August 2025. Tickets are free and the event will be hosted at Revolución de Cuba Nottingham.
The workshop will cover understanding vulnerability and responding effectively to premises licence responsibilities as well as the Ask for Angela initiative.
- Any premises wanting to attend the event can sign up here - Vulnerability in Licensed Premises and Ask for Angela Workshop Tickets, Tue 12 Aug 2025 at 13:00 | Eventbrite.
