Page 7 - Daily Telegraph 10th January 2003
Church Concerts exempted from new licence rules
BY ANDREW SPARROW
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Churches will be given some form of exemption from the Government's Bill, Kim Howells, the culture minister, says today.

He promises that the Government will make sure that the Bill does not threaten the country's 2great tradition" of church music.

Under current licensing rules churches only need to obtain a licence to stage concerts if they are in London. Churches outside the capital are exempt.

The Bill as it stands says churches that are used for more than five performances a year will have to have a licence. The Government has not said what the cost will be but churches fear that that they could be landed with bills for thousands of pounds.

There have also been fears that events such as the Three Choirs Festival, the world's oldest music festival that takes place at Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester cathedrals, will not be commercially viable when the new regulations come into force.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Howells says; "The last thing any of us would want is to threaten this country's great tradition of church music that is epitomised by this rich and vibrant festival."

"As minister with responsibilities for licensing, I won't let this happen. If an unintentional result of the Licensing bill is that the future of church music is threatened, then we will amend it."

The bill, which mainly deals with pub licensing, is still going through its committee stage in the Lords. The Government is expected to introduce an amendment dealing with the church issue at a later stage in the Bill's passage through Parliament.

Ministers are also expected to address two complaints about the Bill made by the joint committee of the Lords and the Commons on human rights.

The committee suggested that the Bill might be incompatible with Article 10 of the Convention of Human Rights, guaranteeing freedom of expression.

This right will be restricted because it will become an offence to stage a performance in a venue without a licence.

The Government argues that it is entitled to interfere with a an article 10 right on the grounds of public safety, the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of the rights of others.