East Lothian Council Trains Teams on Ask for Angela

East Lothian Council has trained its teams and partners in Ask for Angela, a simple and effective scheme to create a safer East Lothian.

Ask for Angela offers people an easy and discrete way of letting staff know they feel unsafe without further explanation. It’s advertised using posters and promotional materials within participating venues; staff can help visitors to safely leave the premises, call a taxi or contact a friend, alert security or contact police if required.

Cabinet member for Community Wellbeing Councillor Colin McGinn said: “While Ask for Angela is known for being used in pubs and entertainment spaces, we believe the principles of being able to quietly signal that you need help are really important. That’s why we’ll be rolling out Ask for Angela amongst our own East Lothian Council services delivering frontline services such as our community centres and libraries, housing and social work teams, as well as helping other partners in East Lothian to do the same.”

East Lothian Council’s Licensing Standards Officer worked with Ask for Angela to deliver a ‘train the trainer’ session with 40 people attending from a wide range of council departments, enjoyLeisure, Volunteer Centre East Lothian, Substance Support Scotland, East and Midlothian Public Protection and licensed premises. Feedback after the event showed that the majority of people attending would feel very confident responding to issues in their venue and very knowledgeable about the Ask for Angela scheme. They will now start to roll out what they have learned and raise awareness in their areas. Further training and development of Ask for Angela will also take place across East Lothian’s licensed premises to compliment a safer night-time economy.

Iwona Kossek, Director of Ask for Angela said: "It was a real pleasure to deliver this training and see such a positive response from everyone who attended. The level of engagement throughout the session was fantastic, with attendees demonstrating a genuine commitment to learning how they can play their part in creating safer, more welcoming environments for everyone.

“We're incredibly pleased to see the continued expansion of the Ask for Angela scheme across East Lothian. Every new venue that takes part in the initiative strengthens the network of businesses committed to supporting customer safety and wellbeing. It's encouraging to see so many venues embracing the scheme, and we look forward to seeing its positive impact continue to grow across the region."

Councillor McGinn added: “We’re grateful to everyone who came along and is playing their part in creating safer communities. Our training session was the first step in our process to roll out Ask for Angela. Attendees will now begin sharing their knowledge within their own teams as part of a coordinated approach. We’ll update more as our Ask for Angela roll out continues.”