We do not know when the new act will commence. There is a lot of sorting for local authorities to do. My guess is not before 2 years, maybe not until 3.

We do know that the local authorities are furiously lobbying for higher charges. Their charges will be set centrally, but have not been set yet. My guess is that they are likely to be double the propaganda figures of £500 for the first new licence under the act.

The guidelies will be incorporated in statutory instrument so it will be harder for the local authorities to ignore these guidelines than some others in the past. The guidelines are still in flux, it seeems, and we must press (I have spoken to Hamish in the interim) for it to be clear that local authiorities should not use licences to impose requirements to comply with existing other laws - particularly health and safety.

It may also be appropriate to seek to have it made express that if an operating plan specifies unamplified music only, the licence must not contain conditions directed to amplified music, adn more essentially, that if an application os for general music and dancing, any conditions in the licences do NOT have effect unless there is music or dancing - this way the moronic semi-exemption has a chance of being slightly useful instead of wholy useless.