http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-413100/Council-enforce-fee-band-playing-non-religious-Jingle-Bells.html

What justification can there be for a claim that carols are religious?

Members of a historic town band are furious after being told they couldn't play Jingle Bells in their Christmas shows unless they paid for a licence - because the song has no religious content.
Callington Town Band in Cornwall, a registered charity, is having to fork out £21 each for seven temporary licences to cover their Christmas programme - because the local licensing authority says so.

Caradon District Council's licensing department told the band it would fall foul of the Licensing Act 2003, which came in to force this April, if it played anything other than religion based carols during its seven Christmas concerts.

The council said a temporary entertainment notice was needed every time entertainment was provided in venues without public licences.
That means festive favourites like Jingle Bells, White Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer need a licence whereas Christmas carols which are considered religious music do not.

Now the MP for the area is set to raise the issue with the Government to try and get a dispensation for the band to play such popular Christmas classics as Jingle Bells.

"We were aghast when we received the letter telling us that we had to have a license unless we played on private property," said band Chairman, Cliff McKane.
"It was amazing."

Callington Town Band, which was reformed 10 years ago after first being formed in 1853, is a registered charity relying on donations.
The band a raises hundreds of pounds for charity each year - this year they are fundraising for the Cornwall Blind Association.
"This will cost the town a small fortune," Mr McKane said.
"Money that we have to spend on these licenses just takes away what we have to give to charity.

"It really is quite stupid," said the band's secretary Dee Blake.
"We are really upset about this.
"People love to hear carols when we play in places like supermarkets, but we can't really perform an entire set of all-carols in a place like that.

"When we performed the songs last year we would see lots of people humming and singing as they wnt by us.
"The kids love Jingle Bells - they know it from an early age."
Callington Town Band are protesting against the new law and said that the people of Callington were unhappy about the situation and had signed a petition which they have handed over to local MP Colin Breed.

MP for South East Cornwall, Liberal Democrat, Colin Breed said that the ruling was an unintentional consequence of the licensing operations: "It's just total nonsense," he said.
"We have to get to the question of whether the band are to play Jingle Bells," he said.
"Hopefully common sense will prevail.

"I'm trying to get a more localised version of the law hopefully we will resolve it before anyone plays Jingle Bells."
Mr McKane said that the band is having to rethink whether they can afford to play their usual seven public Christmas dates on the town's streets as he said that the fees plus administration costs could top £150.

"I don't think that we could consider only doing religious carols - there is not enough music available and it wouldn't last long enough."

Mr McKane said that he was confused with the new licensing laws which he says have meant the band need a license if they perform in a church yard, but not a few yards away inside the church building.
"Fines can be as much as £6,000 I've been told," he said.
"A lot of district councils are turning a blind eye."

Caradon District Council's licensing officer Michelle Brooking said that the ruling applied throughout the country: "The ruling was brought in by the Licensing Act in 2003."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-413100/Council-enforce-fee-band-playing-non-religious-Jingle-Bells.html#ixzz0ZmW667Ru