As proprietor of a licensed premise the council can accept or refuse to accept any booking as it wishes, exactly as can a church hall or a pub with a function room. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the council's licensing function.

That this procedure turns the council from the deciding authority into the licensee - with the descretion to stage what they want - is of course my main concern.

But the question posed is still a relevant one. The Local Authority has applied to itself for permission to stage all the forms of Regulated Entertainment on these spaces. Then given itself - as the licensee - permission to do so. This is done - it is claimed for the benefit and on behalf of the public.

So what possible grounds can a local authority have, that would justify any member of that public, filling in yet another form to ask for the same permission for the same Regulated Entertainment for their employees not to unconditionally grant it? What is good for the goose should also be good enough for the gander.

Cutting red tape this certainly is not. I can imagine if the Act had required the councils to devise and process these new applications from the public and to do so for free - the Local Government Association would have said it was not possible and demanded more staff and more funds.

The only attraction this has for our councils - is a further move towards them having total control.