Schedule 1 - Provision of regulated amendments
Licensing Bill [Lords]
2:45 pm
Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight, Conservative)
The more I listen to debates on the schedule, the more convinced I am that the approach adopted by the Government is wrong. If I had the opportunity to listen further to the hon. Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), I would perhaps feel that the approach is even more wrong. The approach seems to consist of saying, ''What kind of event is this? Shall we put it in the Bill?'' The judgment about whether to include it in the Bill depends on what kind of trouble the event causes. As the hon. Gentleman has demonstrated, the approach should vary according to not the kind of event but its size, the volume of noise generated, the numbers in the audience or the number of spectators, and the kind of participation in which they engage. We have not considered such things in the debates on the amendments moved so far.
I find it difficult to get into a sensible debate on the schedule when the Minister says, ''It is no good talking about environmental health legislation, because it does not work.''
The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Dr. Kim Howells) indicated dissent.