Clause 25
6:00 pm
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge, Labour)
I beg to move amendment 78, in clause 25, page 20, line 1, leave out paragraph (b).
May I say that your voice, Sir Nicholas, has taken on a completely different quality this afternoon, which I find quite interesting and stimulating? As I am sure most members of the Committee are aware, since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force lap-dancing clubs have been licensed in the same way as cafÃ(c)s, which has led to a proliferation of new clubs across the country. I first became aware of the issue not long after becoming an MP in 2005 when several residents complained to me that they had been unable to register their objections to a club setting up in Stourbridge only yards from their homes, which struck me as wrong. As a keen new MP, I obviously tried to intervene. I found that not only were the residents correct that they could not register their objections, but that the local authority felt that the club was following the law quite properly, even though it felt in its heart that the residents ought to be able to object. I spoke to many other MPs and found that the same issue was popping up all over the country.
There was a second application very soon after for another lap-dancing club in Stourbridge. It is a market town whose centre is enclosed by a ring road, and it still retains the feel of a market town, so to have yet another lap-dancing club, this time asking for permission to build 50 private booths, seemed rather overwhelming, and there was some debate as to what 50 private booths would bring for Stourbridge. I joined with the Fawcett Society and Object to bring the issue to the fore and we began to campaign. We got cross-party support because it is ridiculous that one can object to one’s neighbour building a porch or a conservatory but not to a cafÃ(c) or bar next door becoming a lap-dancing club, and that was the basis on which the campaign started.
A 10,000-name petition was sent to Downing street, which gained the campaign much publicity, and many more people came on board. I am pleased that we have got to the point where the Government have listened to the people and decided to introduce clause 25, and I am particularly grateful to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, who has taken a keen interest in the case. I believe that it is because of her interest that the issue has been highlighted even more. Local authorities will now be allowed to license lap-dancing clubs in the same way they license sex shops and cinemas, and they will be called sex encounter venues. That is really important, because local authorities such as Dudley can now take into account important factors such as the gender equality requirement, the character of a locality and whether the proposed club will be appropriate to the area, which is vital.