Parliament's Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee will report on its investigation into the impact of the 2003 Licensing Act tomorrow, and key players in the live sector hope it will recommend a number of changes to the licensing systems introduced by the act which some say have hindered the grass roots live music scene by making it harder, or at least more bureaucratic, for smaller and occasional music venues to stage gigs.
The chair of the Committee, Tory MP John Whittingdale, is reportedly remaining tight lipped on what will be in his report, though insiders say those who gave evidence to the investigation from the music business are hopeful there will be some positive stuff in there.
The report is also expected to comment on the controversial Form 696, the Met Police's form used in live music licensing applications in the capital which has been much criticised, partly because it asks for full contact information of all participants, and partly because it asks for detailed genre information which it's assumed police use to make prejudicial judgements about the ethnic make up of a potential audience, and the potential for that audience to kick off.