There's a succinct little piece in the editorial (page 16) of today's Independent. Here it is:

"Praise Be! The most bizarre provision in the Government's Licensing Bill has been dropped. Musical performances in churches and other places of worship will not need to be licensed after all. Kim Howells, the Culture minister, may be a powerful and charismatic man, but he is still a smaller figure than the Almighty.
That still leaves a deeply flawed piece of legislation, possibly the most ill fated since the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. As the Musicians Union argues, the exemption of churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and chapels does not address the main concern about the extension of licensing to cover small-scale performances in pubs and bars. It is an absurdly statist and crudely bureaucratic intrusion into our creative human rights. We suspect someone high up in the Culture Department just doesn't like folk music in pubs."

Andrea