Government proposes to loosen event licensing requirements

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation that proposes scrapping parts of the Licensing Act that require people to apply and sometimes pay for licenses before staging public events.

Under the Licensing Act individuals are generally required to obtain a licence, or temporary event notice (TEN), in order to stage events including a film exhibition; indoor sporting events; live music performances or recorded music playing; plays; dance performances, and boxing or wrestling matches. This is regardless of whether they are free public events, charity-fundraisers or commercially motivated.

Licensing authorities, such as local councils, must decide on whether to grant events licenses based on whether they think the event could endanger public safety, be an unsafe environment for children, or lead to crime and disorder and public nuisance.

Tourism Minister John Penrose said that the Government will scrap the requirement to obtain a licence in most circumstances, unless respondents to the consultation can identify good reasons not to.

"Our starting point is a simple one: if there’s no good reason for any of the rules and restrictions in this important area, our presumption should be to scrap them," Penrose said in a DCMS statement.

“Before we press ahead, it’s important we get the views of those working in the industry, and to make sure that the principles of public safety, prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm are safeguarded," Penrose said.

In its consultation the Government said that if there was a "genuine need" to licence forms of entertainment then the licensing requirements under the Licensing Act would remain either in full or in part.

"In such cases this consultation seeks to identify the precise nature of the potential harm, and seek evidence to identify effective and proportionate solutions," the consultation (44-page / 309KB PDF) said.

The Government intends to retain the licensing requirements for major live music, theatre, dance and recorded music performances, as well as indoor sport or film exhibition events, where more than 5,000 people will attend, the consultation said.

Individuals will also still require a licence to stage boxing and wrestling matches and "any performance of dance that may be classed as sexual entertainment, but is exempt from separate sexual entertainment venue regulations," the consultation said.

Penrose said that "deregulation" would help community groups and businesses.

"Pointless bureaucracy and licence fees imposed on community groups trying to put on simple amateur productions and fund-raising events sap energy and deaden people’s desire to get involved," Penrose said.

"Deregulation ... will make it easier for new talent to get started and help pubs to diversify into other activities to help weather the present tough economic climate.  That’s why I want to set a match to all this nonsense, and trust sensible people to act sensibly, with regulation retained only where rightly needed to keep audiences and performances safe," Penrose said.

Music and arts groups backed the proposals.

"Enabling live music to flourish has potential to drive social cohesion, entrepreneurialism and economic growth," UK Music chief executive Feargal Sharkey said. "UK Music warmly welcomes this consultation and all other measures that would remove red tape for the benefit of musicians and creative talent."

"In recent years the escalating burden of entertainment licensing and similar regulation has become a major obstacle to amateur arts groups putting on small local events and performances," said Voluntary Arts chief executive Robin Simpson.

"From a few acoustic musicians playing in a pub, to public workshops and small local festivals, the complexity and cost of regulation originally intended for much larger-scale events has had a detrimental effect on hundreds of thousands of volunteers who give their time for the benefit of their communities," said Simpson. "Voluntary Arts therefore welcomes these proposals to reduce the regulatory burden."

The Government's consultation closes on 3 December.