That's the crazy thing, though, Penny. That's what every agrees should happen - DCMS, mayors, MPs, the lot - but its not what the law says. There is simply not the distinction between the different kinds of music making/singing that the DCMS statement implies.

My guess at what really went on is that the Government wanted enough penalties to deal with large scale raves (which haven't made the press for some years, as far as I have seen) and they were simply unable to come up with a means to distinguish between those and small scale music that allowed them to be confident they would always be able to prosecute the large scale offences. So the Government has issued guidence that has no basis in the law as passed, which roughly translates as 'be sensible about it, folks'. The problem is, though, as Shambles has told us at great length on many occasions, is that there will alway be bodies who are unable or unwilling to do so, and that leaves everyone unsure whether what they are doing will be prosecuted. That is roughly where we were with the two-in-a-bar rule that was widely ignored, and my best guess is that it is also where we will end up once all this has settled down.