Last January the Government launched a consultation on the deregulation of entertainment activities that require a licence under the Licensing Act 2003.
The consultation put forward the case for the total removal of entertainment licences from performances of plays, dance, live and recorded music, as well as indoor sporting events and film exhibition.
After carrying out a review with its members involved in both indoor sport and movement and dance activities, the Sport and Recreation Alliance responded to the consultation welcoming the proposals – making the point that deregulation would help to ease the bureaucratic burdens often faced by a sector relying largely on volunteers.
The Alliance is pleased that the Government took note of its arguments and believes that the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS’s) decision has cut one more piece of red tape hindering many sports clubs, classes, organisations and dance sessions which carry out activities up and down the country.
As a result of the consultation, dance performances taking place between 8am and 11pm for audiences of up to 500 will now be deregulated – meaning that organisations will no longer have to pay or apply for an entertainment licence. Indoor sports will also no longer have to apply for the licence between 8am and 11pm for audiences of up to 1000.
Tim Lamb, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said:
“We welcome the news that the DCMS is to proceed with the deregulation of indoor entertainment activities and we are pleased to say that many of our member organisations will benefit.
“The average sport and recreation organisation needs as many as 30 licences simply in order to function, as we highlighted in our Red Card to Red Tape research, so it’s great to see one of these being swept away.
“The vast majority of sport and recreation organisations are volunteer-run and at present those unsung heroes are struggling through the cloying effect that bureaucracy can have on their sport or activity.
“As the independent voice for the sector, we look forward to working with the government on similar cases such as music and alcohol licensing, to see if similar positive outcomes can be achieved.”
View the DCMS consultation response.
Find out more about Red Card to Red Tape.
For more information contact Simon Butler.
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