Licensing Act

It has been a good debate. The Select Committee's report is excellent, and the presentation given by the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford (Mr. Whittingdale) was well thought out. I hope that the Minister will answer the points raised today both in his summation and later, once the debate is over. I should point out to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies)—he apologised for having to leave early—that there is a difference between a Liberal and a libertarian. He described himself as a libertarian, but Liberals are not necessarily libertarians. As we heard earlier, Liberals believe in social responsibility and the role of the community. I am not sure whether libertarians always do exactly that. We have plenty of time, but I shall try not to overextend my contribution. I wish to touch on four matters, the first of which concerns recommendation 2, which deals with sports clubs. I shall not repeat all the strong arguments put earlier. I used to work in architecture, and I worked for a time at a firm that did a lot of work for Wetherspoons. Being responsible for designing its pubs, I would occasionally be brought before the magistrates to explain the licensed areas shown on the plans. The areas were clearly defined by a red line. However, that was not necessarily the area of the premises, because some external areas were not part of the licensed area. That was clearly understood—but not, it has to be said, by all magistrates. However, there was no difficulty in having two zones. It is practical and easy for sports clubs to have two zones—a red line to define the pub and bar area for which a licence fee should be paid, and a blue line to define the wider area. So doing would reduce the cost to those sports clubs, perhaps helping them to do more of their health-giving activities than the slightly more damaging ones that tend to happen after exercising on the rugby pitch or the cricket field—or, in my case, rowing on the River Thames. Much has been said about live music. Indeed, many Members enjoyed a little light music yesterday, organised by the all-party group on folk arts. I believe the Minister was there.