Policing and Crime Bill

As the noble Baroness indicated, the concerns of the lap-dancing industry have been made clear to the Government. It fears that the annual renewal process will be overly burdensome and, indeed, may in some instances be used by local authorities to remove licences without cause. The Government do not believe that this will be the case. The regime has been in force for over two decades for a number of venues such as sex shops and sex cinemas, and while it is true that the conversion costs may be less for those businesses, there do not seem to have been any problems. We see no reason to believe that local authorities will refuse to grant or renew a licence to a responsible operator that only a year previously had been issued a licence unless it has good reason for so doing. It is therefore the Government’s view that these amendments would significantly weaken the impact of the reforms being introduced in Clause 26, which will reclassify lap-dancing clubs as sex establishments, recognising that they offer entertainment which is fundamentally different from other entertainment venues such as nightclubs and pubs. Such venues often raise particular concerns for local communities. For this reason, we believe that the ongoing scrutiny created by the need for a lap-dancing club to renew its licence on at least an annual basis is justified. The renewal process will provide local people with the opportunity to make further objections, if such objections exist, thereby empowering people to ensure that local authorities can be responsive to their views. I hope that this explains clearly why the Government have proposed these provisions and do not feel able to accept the amendment, and I trust that the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw it.