Government U-Turn on small venue licensing exemption

The UK Government have recently made a surprising U- turn in the live music sector by proposing a licensing exemption for small venues to host live gigs.

During a parliamentary debate of the Media and Sport select committee's recent review of the 2003 legislation, Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe announced that he planned to exempt venues with a capacity of under 100 from the requirements introduced by the controversial Licensing Act 2003.

Although there is no specific timeframe for this to be implemented yet, Sutcliffe said that, provided the exemption proposal had cross party support, he would seek to rush it through parliament.

Trade Associations such as UK Music and The Musician’s Union have continually campaigned against the perceived shortcomings and oversights of the current Licensing Act, as previously reported by The Gen.

The key issues were explored in a report submitted by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee earlier in the year proposing a licensing exemption for venues with a maximum capacity of 200 and the reintroduction of the ‘two in a bar’ rule, which had previously allowed pubs and small venues to host live music performed by one or two musicians without a permit, prior to the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003.

At the time, the Government rejected all suggested reforms and recommendations. The Chair of the select committee, John Whittingdale is a fierce critic of Government inability to reform what many in the live sector consider to be ill-conceived legislation concerning live music.

Commenting in a statement following the announcement, Whittingdale clearly welcomed the proposals but also said that the 100-capacity exemption was a “late and fairly small” concession.

For more information on the Licensing Act 2003 and how it affects live music promoters, go to the live music support section of Generator’s new website

Have your say! Does this concession from the Government come as a surprise? Is it a step in the right direction or a “late and fairly small concession”? What are your thoughts on the Licensing Act 2003 and should other aspects of it be reevaluated? Get involved in the discussion below!