As we reported earlier, the Live Music Bill, which amends the Licensing Act of 2003, was due to go before the House of Commons today. It proposed to amend certain aspects of the original Licensing Act, particularly those concerning small venues, which were required by law to apply for a license for any live music event.
According to a Tweet by Kerry McCarthy MP, the Bill was successfully passed through the House of Commons today, and is now awaiting approval by the House of Lords before passing into law.
This should come as good news for those running small venues – pubs, churches, community centres and the like – removing a significant amount of the red tape around putting on live events. The amendments make any venue smaller than 200 capacity exempt from licensing requirements.
