Businesses across Swindon cannot be forced to sign up to safeguarding schemes like the Safety at Night Charter and the Ask for Angela initiative.

But they will instead be encouraged to do so.

Swindon Borough Council’s head of regulatory services Kate Bishop updated members of the authority’s licensing committee after the full council passed a motion asking about the possibility of making businesses join such schemes a condition of licensing.

But Ms Bishop told members that wasn’t allowed in law.

She said: “The Licensing Act does not allow for additional conditions to be put on existing licenses and therefore the recommendation cannot lawfully be made and conditions can only be included on new licenses in specific circumstances.”

Councillor Junab Ali asked whether conditions to sign up to the schemes could be added to new licenses issued.

The committee’s legal advisor Daryl Bigwood pointed out a difficulty, and said: “There are largely voluntary schemes. Things like Challenge 25 are on a prescribed list and are also well-established.

"You need to make a judgement whether other schemes will be as longstanding, because licenses are issued in perpetuity.

"So, if you make it a condition a premises remains signed up to a scheme which fades away then that’s a possible breach of the licence.”

Ms Bishop told the committee that 38 venues in Swindon have signed up to the Police And Crime Commissioner’s Safety at Night Charter and across the whole of Wiltshire, 155 venues have signed up: “So, it’s a proportion, but this is an entirely voluntary arrangement.”

Councillor Fay Howard said: “I think we need to note the importance of these schemes and big them up a bit.

“And I’d like you to promote it to taxi drivers as well.”

Ms Bishop agreed. She said: “It’s actively promoted by Wiltshire Council but not so much here. We can promote it.

“I propose we mention it and recommend that premises sign up to the schemes in any correspondence we have with them.”

She requested the chairman of the committee, Councillor John Ballman, to leave the motion from full council “on the table until there is a way of doing something about it”.

The committee noted her report and agreed to leave it with the licensing department.