Clause 98 - Temporary event notice
Licensing Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight, Conservative)
But they are exempt now.
One of the things that we have discovered in examining temporary event notices is that events such as Cowes week, Henley, Wimbledon and so on, which used to be part of a progression of events around the country, have outgrown their origins and have been taken over to some extent by specialists, who have extended their period of operation. Whereas previously one would progress gently from Henley to Wimbledon to Cowes to the glorious 12th—not necessarily in that order—nowadays, with the exception of the latter, there are no time limits on the activities that used to be undertaken within a limited period.
I welcome the Minister's emphasis on the use of premises licenses and variations on those. He will be pleased to hear that I have now discovered the clause that deals with variations—and what is more I have read it, or at least some of it. I could now tell Mr. Troup, of whom we spoke this morning, that running many events during Cowes week, and in the weeks and months around that time, should not be too much of a
burden for him. However, I do not want to go too far down that line, because that is for the Minister to say.
Clauses 34(5) and 18(5) deal with the time limits on applications for varying premises licences. The Minister has been helpful in allowing me time to find the relevant clauses. Will the regulations made under clause 18 specify the same time limits for variations as those made under provisions elsewhere, or will they be different? I should be satisfied if those specify different time limits, because that would enable people to deal with quick, rapid, or urgent variations to the basic premises licence. That would greatly reduce my criticism of the limit on the number of temporary event notices; it might also eliminate my criticism of the prevention of back-to-back notices.
We are looking for a fast-track but scrutinised process. I accept that a temporary event notice has drawbacks, because it is not open to public scrutiny. However, the premises licence process may be too long. If the Minister could offer us a fast-track but scrutinised process, that might satisfy some of the people who have made representations to me about the number of temporary event notices.
I am grateful for what the Minister said about folk dance and folk songs. For the record, the English Folk Dance and Song Society says that it not only represents morris dancing, but also
''clog, molly, longsword, rapper, Appalachian and other international styles'',
although how an English society can represent ''other international styles'' is not clear. It also has something called ''pace egging''. Perhaps the Minister will help me later by explaining what that means.
There is something attractive in what the hon. Member for South Dorset said about his amendments. Instead of setting an upper limit on the number of notices, whether that be five or 50, perhaps the Minister could consider setting an upper limit on the aggregate hours for which a notice may be applicable. If he did so, it would take care of the argument of my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Cambridgeshire. In my experience, most village halls do not go in for four-day events. They go in for short events—in some cases, the shorter, the better—