The music industry has welcomed a new report that makes ten recommendations for how the UK government could improve the licensing of pubs, clubs, venues and events. The report was put together by a government-convened taskforce that was asked to review licensing rules 20 years on from the last major overhaul of the law, that being the 2003 Licensing Act.
Among other things the report calls for the creation of a National Licensing Policy Framework to ensure more consistency in how local authorities go about licensing businesses and events.
It also proposes a one time ‘amnesty’ that would remove conditions in existing licences that are outdated or stem from licensing rules pre-2003; a possible change to the law to provide a standardised route for music festivals seeking a perpetual licence; and a further expansion of the ‘agent of change’ principle.
Explaining the rationale for the taskforce, minister Gareth Thomas says that nighttime and hospitality businesses have “long indicated that the current licensing system has perceptively moved away from its original intention, which was to create a more flexible and transparent framework for regulating the sale and supply of alcohol and certain types of entertainment”.
While the interests of these businesses need to be balanced with the interests of the local communities in which they operate, the minister goes on, “we must ensure that they are not tied down by unnecessarily burdensome red tape”. He then adds, “I am therefore very grateful to the taskforce for advising us on the key issues that they face and how these can be overcome”.
Although not yet making firm commitments regarding implementing the report’s recommendations, the minister says, “the government will explore these recommendations at the earliest opportunity, consulting a wider range of stakeholders before bringing in measures that will bring the balance back. The vibrancy, resilience and economic growth of our communities depends on it”.
Jon Collins, CEO of live music trade group LIVE, was among the music industry representatives to take part in the taskforce. Welcoming the report, he says he was “delighted to work with government on developing these proposals and it is great to see so many positive, business friendly measures being championed”.
On the recommendations, he adds, “this rebalancing of the licensing regime will retain necessary protections while opening up new opportunities for venues, events and festivals. That will mean more joy, more vibrancy and, crucially, growth”.
The recommendations include a number of measures that have long been called for by the live sector, none more than the ‘agent of change’ principle, which says that developers putting new residential properties next to existing clubs or venues should anticipate and mitigate future noise issues.
The principle was added to planning guidelines in England in 2018, but it’s generally agreed that there has been an inconsistent approach around the country regarding how the principle is implemented.
Earlier this week, prior to the publication of the taskforce’s report, the government announced a number of measures to simplify planning and licensing rules for night-time businesses, and that included strengthening the agent of change principle.
In its response to the taskforce’s report, the government says it “supports strengthening the ‘agent of change’ principle to ensure uniform application across local authorities”. To that end, it will “explore how we can improve the implementation of the agent of change principle as part of wider planning reforms and will consult on a set of national policies for decision making this year”.