A robust exchange in the House of Lords has resulted in the Government admitting that the Licensing Bill has been a disappointment. Moving to reject new Government guidelines, Liberal Democrat Lord Clement-Jones said, The Act has not achieved the benefits for live music claimed by Ministers when it passed through this House. Rather than change the guidance, he suggested that it is the Act itself which needs changing.
He cited a number of cases where live music had ceased since the Act came into force, and pointed out that the Live Music Forum had found that the Act has had only a broadly neutral effect on the provision of live music. In reply, Labour peer Lord Davies of Oldham admitted that, Ministers certainly had high hopes that [the Bill] would increase the provision of live music and added, we are disappointed in that respect. He also said that, the Government accept that the new regime has yet to deliver& significant benefits in terms of the number and variety of live music performances. Describing the evidence as impressionistic, Lord Davies noted that the Government has commissioned research on the extent of live music in licensed premises in England and Wales, with results by the end of this year.
Published: 05-11-2007