Friday afternoon I sent this to Tom Grainger

I am still at an utter loss as to the purpose of taxing pubs (by way of PEL) that support our musical heritage. Do local people realise that council employees are employed for such farcical duties - hardly best value. The lack of response from your council departments seems to suggest you have no answers. Please give me some justification for this mean spiritedness towards people who wish to express themselves musically. I am really trying to understand but I am guessing the Law was created to prevent some problem and folk musicians have not been exempt? Is there no interpretation in the Law for the council to give leeway to folk musicians. I am getting fairly angry about this as no one seems to want to explain the situation to me

Fairly Quickly a response arrived
from Tom Grainger Cc Sue Allen
I'm not sure what you've been told or your source of 'information', but it is entirely untrue to suggest Council officers have not supplied answers or explained why a PEL is needed. One of the Council's Committees had a report and a discussion in June on the subject. Both the report and the discussion were in public. I can supply a copy of the report if it of interest to you- just supply your address.

The issue is quite straightforward. The relevant Act says that if there is entertainment carried out, then a PEL is needed, unless it is covered by certain exemptions. The exemptions covers several things - including some religious activities and performances by less than three people. The purpose of the legislation is primarily to ensure public saftey (eg numbers attending) or noise dosen't become a nuisance.

Where entertainment is regularly provided (eg most weeks) and that entertainment is provided by more than two people, then unless other exemptions apply a PEL is needed. Over 80 pubs in Weymouth & Portland have PELs. The cost to many pubs is quite low - typically #180- pa. The Council has also said that if local musicians have views on how the law should be changed will collate these and pass them on to Government.