Sheffield council has never felt any need to interfere with the carols, though I suspect that, this year at least, there were people from outside the area hoping that they would.

If Sheffield council can explain to all the other licensing authorities how they enable events that these other councils claim the law does not allow them to permit without PELs. And that they cannot turn a blind eye to, as this would place the public at risk, we may be well on the way to solving the current problems presented to folk activities.

No one want to prevent this tradition, but they may wish to enable other traditions elsewhere. As this is most probably the last time the pub carols will take place under current legislation and the position under the new legislation does not look too hopeful, it would seem a good time to try and openly establish how this particular local tradition is enabled now. And how it can be enabled under the new legislation.

I do not see that there is anything to lose locally by making this situation public and plenty of advantages by demonstrating the patchy and unsatifactory nature of current legislation and to try and ensure that these arguments do not continue under new law. And that all traditional activities taking place in all pubs can take place free of the threat of local authority enforcement.