Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending protections provided by the offence of assaulting a retail worker to hospitality workers in public-facing roles.

Violence and abuse towards any worker is unacceptable. We have considered the case for extending the new offence to hospitality and other public-facing workers, but do not consider that a wider offence is necessary at the moment.

Public-facing hospitality workers are already protected by existing assault offences, and section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 requires courts to treat an assault committed against a person providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor when sentencing.

The new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker is intentionally targeted at retail workers, reflecting the particular evidence of violence and abuse affecting that sector. Keeping the definition focused also provides clarity for the courts in determining when the offence applies.