The current legislation is based on the belief that live music WILL cause disturbance, WILL lead to crime and disorder and WILL give rise to particular safety issues. The proposed amendment will reverse these presumptions for small events by removing them from the licensing provisions.

If in individual cases any of these issues do arise, they can be dealt with using a raft of legislation, including the option to revoke the exemption. So in that sense the Licensing Act can still be used to control noise, by revoking the exemption and bringing the venue back into the Act. There are also other statutory and common law remedies to control excessive noise levels.

I think on the whole the proposal is to be welcomed, although it does have its shortcomings. The provision about "entertainment facilities" is particularly ridiculous - but then this Act has been a textbook example of cocked-up legislation from the outset.