And here is the fax I have just sent to my MP, Bill Rammell, via FaxYourMP- http://www.faxyourmp.com/index.php3 And they really do read them - and it is a completely free service. Why not doit now?? You don't even have to know what his name is, if you know your own postcode..
Monday 25 February 2002
Mr Bill Rammell
MP for Harlow
House Of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Monday 25 February 2002
Dear Bill Rammell,
A couple of months ago I wrote to you about the issue of the restrictions on our right to sing or make music in any public place in this country. You sent a reply indicating that you are aware of the problems involved, and sympathetic to a change in the law.
I am writing this to bring to your attention the fact that an adjournment debate about Public Entertainment Licence policy is scheduled on Wednesday 27th February. It has been obtained by David Heath MP (Lib Dem, Somerton & Frome), who recently raised the issue in a question to your colleague Dr Kim Howells.
This was the time when Dr Howells caused a bit of a stir when he said, speaking as Junior Culture Minister, "...For a simple urban boy such as me, the idea of listening to three Somerset folk singers sounds like hell..."
I know that reform is supposed to be on the way. However I am concerned that it might not be quite the right reform. There seems to be a concentration on the issue of two-in-a-bar. That is bad enough - but it is at least possible for one or two people to sing or play in a pub without a special licence.
In any other public place even a single musician or singer puts the management at risk, if they do not have a Public Entertainment Licence. So far as I can see this aspect has been completely ignored in proposals for reforming the law.
Moreover the proposals appear to focus on paid performances, leaving aside the matter of people who wish to be able to make music or sing for their own enjoyment.
I would hope we could return to the situation that existed when I was young where, for example, coffee bars could allow live musicians to play without fear of a £20,000 fine.
I would also draw to your attention a recent legal decision in the High Court on February 21st that the "two-in-a-bar" rule should be applied in an extremely restrictive way. It had been thought that maybe it just meant two musicians or singers at one time. The court decided that it meant two on a particular occasion - no taking turns. And it doesn't make any difference that the people singing or playing may be doing it for their own enjoyment, with no payment.
This is not the most important issue around. But it is more important than some people, apparently including (from that quote above) Kim Howells, appreciates. It infringes our liberties in ways that would not be tolerated elsewhere in Europe, including Scotland. It inhibits all kinds of live music in an informal setting.
I believe that the present disparity in law is already a factor which influences tourists from America in deciding where to visit. If you like informal music, far better to go somewhere where it is encouraged rather than penalised.
I am sure I do not need to persuade you of the absurdity of the present law, and the need to change it rapidly. Good luck in anything you can do to persuade your colleagues of this as well.
Yours sincerely,
Kevin McGrath