I just sent this:

The PEL, or Public Entertainment Licence that pubs etc need before they can allow music or singing on their premises.

eg: The Travellers Rest, Oughtibridge near Sheffield has for years been the venue for villagers to come and sing their traditional Christmas Carols in the bar. This has now been very effectively stopped by the Act.

The Bird in Hand, Mobberley, Cheshire has for years been the venue for various folk song, dance & music events, typically the Winter Solstice gathering of folk singers, musicians and dancers. Not any more, the PEL has killed off the event.

I am a singer of British traditional folk songs, but I am effectively barred from singing in many pubs because they don't have the requisite licence.

I cannot imagine why this licence was thought to be needed (by Kim Howells) in the first place, other than to kill off live (un-amplified) music and to raise more revenue. I have yet to hear a coherent argument from any quarter in support of this Act.

Repeal this senseless Act before it kills what little culture remains in England.

John