More than 100 members of actor’s union Equity, together with the Musicians’ Union, have held a demonstration outside Parliament to urge the government to undo the damage to live entertainment being perpetrated by the current licensing regime. Both unions are asking for a licensing exemption for venues putting on events with fewer than 200 people in the audience, and Equity argues that the government needs to reconsider its rejection of the DCMS Select Committee’s recommendations for improvements to the Licensing Act (AP195). Equity is highly critical of the government’s “piecemeal” response to the Select Committee report, saying that its failure to implement key recommendations “has had a detrimental effect on small venues”. According to the DCMS’s Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing for England and Wales, 8,000 more premises are now licensed to put on live music than in 2007, despite the fact that the number of surrendered and lapsed premises licences is also higher than in previous years. DCMS Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has stated that “licensees are widening their customer appeal by putting on live music”. However, when questioned by AP, a DCMS spokesperson conceded that the growth in uptake of entertainment licences could be attributed to the wider scope of the licensing law and the dropping of the ‘two-in-a-bar’ licensing exemption, which means that premises that previously did not need a licence now require one. The DCMS has proposed new measures to make it possible to apply online for a licence to put on live music and other arts, saying that online applications could save businesses and voluntary organisations up to £1.5m per year.
