The Live Music Forum

Hamish Birchall Bulletin

 

Thursday 24th May 2007 - More BBC coverage - More Parliamentary Questions

 

The Number 10 licensing/live music petition remains number 1 and now has over 76,000 names:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/  [to sign]

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/list/open?sort=signers  [list of top petitions]

The petition is open for signing until 11 June. It is attracting more media coverage. See  'Tough Act to Follow' by BBC London reporter Photini Philipidou:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6665529.stm


BBC Radio Five Live has also contacted petition founder Dominic Cronin with a view to a piece on that station.

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Clearly unimpressed by the government response to his question about what improvement would be made to the Licensing Act in response to the petition, Lord Redesdale has tabled five more questions:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldcumlst.htm

Note that s.177 of the Act, a provision offering small venues a potential saving on licence conditions for live music, was introduced by the government during the final days of debate on the then Licensing Bill in 2003. The intention was to break the Lib Dem/Conservative alliance in support of an exemption for live music in small venues. In that it was successful. However, it is one of the most complex provisions in the Act, and was misinterpreted by the Lib Dems at the time. As lawyers predicted, has turned out to be virtually unworkable.


... to ask Her Majesty's Government what take up by licensed premises there has been of the provisions set out in section 177 of the Licensing Act 2003; and what action the Government have taken to promote the use of section 177 with licensing authorities. [DCMS] HL3924


... to ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Musician Unions 2006 survey State of the Nation is an adequate guide to assessing the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on the performance of live music. [DCMS] HL3890


... to ask Her Majesty's Government what research and statistical analysis is being commissioned to enable distinctions to be made between complaints about incidents of recorded and live music. [DCMS] HL3891

... to ask Her Majesty's Government how many incidents of busking have been prohibited since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force. [DCMS]
HL3892

.... to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will clarify the distinction between licensable public performances and exempt private performances of live music under the Licensing Act 2003. [DCMS] HL3893


Hamish Birchall

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