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The Curch Times
'Sing now: talk later' - council
By Rachel Harden

CONFUSION surrounded the licensing laws for carol-singers this week after churches cancelled a joint event that could have gone ahead without a licence.

Churches Together in Poringland, near Norwich, called off carol singing outside a local supermarket because they believed they needed a temporary-event licence, and it was too late to apply for one.

South Norfolk Council, which would have issued the licence, said on Tuesday that the new licensing laws (2003) were "grey" on whether carol singers collecting for charity needed a licence or not.

A statement by Alex Evans, the council's licensing manager, said that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had given varying advice on whether a licence was needed for singing carols outside stores.

The statement said that that church and other groups wanting to carol-sing should go ahead, and discuss the issue with the council in the New Year, to avoid similar problems at Christmas 2006.

A DCMS spokeswoman said on Tuesday that parts of the Licensing Act were currently being reviewed, and specific aspects of it, including the parts relating to public carol-singing, would be looked at in detail.

"Carol-singers who entertain shoppers on a high street would not need to be licensed, providing the performance is incidental to the main activity, which, in this case, is people doing their Christmas shopping. If in doubt, organisers should contact their licensing authority," said a DCMS official.

http://www.culture.gov.uk/

ENDS

Does anyone know what parts of the Licensing Act are currently being reviewed and by whom?