Clause 74 - Prohibited conditions: plays
Licensing Bill [Lords]
5:15 pm
Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 362, in
clause 74, page 43, line 30, at end add 'or to protect children'.
The amendment is self-explanatory. It would add to subsection (2) an additional get-out to subsection (1), which allows the local authority to set a condition for the protection of children in club premises. The licensing authority would be entitled to judge what access children are likely to have to the premises in determining whether it was appropriate to set conditions as to the nature of plays, in exactly the same way as they are entitled to judge on the grounds of public safety.
We can think of several reasons, such as the use of fireworks on a stage, why a local authority may wish to prohibit access unless certain arrangements are made. Similarly, the local authority may wish to take account of the type of play if it felt that there may be access, especially to young children, and it wanted to set conditions concerning access to a premises. I am not suggesting that it may ban a play, but it may, for example, make provision for youngsters to attend only if accompanied by an adult or a club member. There is nothing in the legislation that requires a club member to be over 18. Without such an exemption, a licensing authority would not be able to say that younger children could not attend or participate in activities that are unsuitable for them.