Policing and Crime Bill

I am not sure that I can construct from the proposed legislation any circumstance which could be described as bleeding a business dry. The amendment would mean that where a venue has been granted a premises licence or a club certificate to authorise relevant entertainment to take place, provided that there are expressed conditions regulating the lap dancing or other similar entertainment being provided as part of the relevant entertainment, it would not be considered to be a sex encounter venue. In effect, the majority of lap-dancing clubs—both those with existing licences and those that may be granted licences under the Licensing Act in the future—would continue to be regulated under the Licensing Act and would avoid the tighter controls provided by Clause 26. Such an amendment would render these reforms largely ineffectual and prevent local people having a greater say over the number and location of lap-dancing clubs in their area. As I stated in response to Amendment 82A, the Government are taking action on the issue of lap-dancing clubs because the controls provided by the Licensing Act have, in the experience of many local authorities, proved insufficient and have not allowed them to address the concerns that such venues pose for many local communities. Therefore, it is the Government’s intention that all venues offering relevant entertainment are regulated under Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 to allow local communities to have a greater say about all such venues in their area. Obviously, we are aware that existing lap-dancing clubs will need to be migrated to the new regime and will need time to apply for a new licence. The transitional arrangements dealing with these issues will be set out in secondary legislation. The Government will publish detailed proposals to that end, and will consult with the industry and other stakeholders on those proposals in due course. I have explained why the Government are not able to accept this amendment and, when we deal with subsequent amendments, I think that we can prove that the fear of bleeding businesses dry is unfounded.