Policing and Crime Bill

In moving Amendment 36 and speaking to Amendments 37, 43 and 54, I shall no doubt also refer to other amendments in this group. I start by thanking the Minister for giving me time to express my feelings about why these amendments are important. I am not sure whether I have convinced him, but we will wait and see. I also thank the Public Bill Office for its help in drafting very complicated amendments. It is encouraging that the Government have listened to the long-time concerns that lap-dancing establishments were licensed under the same category as restaurants and pubs, while clearly being part of the commercial sex industry. This Bill reforms the licensing category to allow lap-dancing clubs to be licensed in the same way as sex shops and sex cinemas—as sex entertainment venues—although the proposed new description does not take into account that, in many clubs, the word encounter would have made the purpose much clearer. However, I believe that the Government’s good intentions are seriously undermined in two ways. The Bill is seriously flawed by the new licensing regime being optional for local councils, by having adoptive provisions, and by there being an exemption for those venues holding lap dancing less than once a month—that is, the occasional use exemption. The Bill as drafted exempts from regulation premises that organise lap dancing no more than 11 times a year. The effect of this exemption is potentially far-reaching. It will make it lawful for any private individual to lay on occasional live sex shows in their own premises, be it a bar or other private premises. It would also be lawful for an impresario to tour with a troupe of performers to different venues without any need for a licence. The upshot of this exemption is that regulation will apply to proper lap-dancing venues but not to unregulated occasional venues, whether in respect of planning, public safety or the safety of performers. Nor will local authorities be able to ensure the conditions that guarantee the safety of those performers. I believe that the Bill provides a ready-made loophole for large commercial lap-dancing agencies to create a submarket in hiring out their performers. Ironically, the exemption is not supported either by the campaigners for these amendments or by the lap-dancing industry itself—though for very different reasons. However, we believe that the exemption is completely unworkable. There is surely a better way. Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 already permits the licensing authority to grant a waiver, the use of which would also have the benefit of maintaining records of use. This would be far more appropriate than the exemption proposed as it would allow local authorities to consider a range of factors relating to the waiver, such as an adequacy of facilities at the venue or the character of the area. The adoptive provisions will have the effect of preventing local people from being able to object to prospective venues. It is unfortunate that the Government have not taken note of the view of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee or of the petition with 10,000 signatures, both of which demanded that the community have a greater say on applications for lap-dancing clubs. I appreciate that the Government might issue guidance to local authorities but this is only guidance and can easily be ignored in some instances—as I am sure it will be—although we may well be told that that would not be the case. I am convinced that stronger action is required by government in order to ensure, first, that local authorities conduct full consultations involving not only the local community but the police and others who might be affected; secondly, that this exemption will mean that the gender equality duty can be disregarded, which is both undesirable and probably unlawful; thirdly, that the first the authority will know of a lap-dancing venue opening in its area will be when the venue has opened; and, fourthly, that modern licensing legislation has tended to move away from locally adoptive legislation to national framework legislation. To create an adoptive regime in this way is therefore a retrograde step. The waiver in the 1982 Act could have covered the Government’s concerns. I have two final points. The impact of lap-dancing clubs also extends beyond the clubs themselves. Lap-dancing clubs fuel a sexist culture in which it is increasingly acceptable to treat women as sex objects, not as people. That was recognised in 1979 by CEDAW, a convention which the Government have of course signed up to. Areas surrounding lap-dancing clubs can also become no-go areas for women, with many women and girls reporting that they feel unsafe in their vicinity. The Lap Dancing Association—a body established in 2008 to coordinate industry opposition to the change of legislation, and which according to the Times has spent large sums in its fight against the reform—is wrong to refute the notion that it operates within the commercial sex industry. I believe that it is also wrong in opposing annual reviews of the licence. It has always been the case with sex establishment licences that authorities can take account of changing circumstances in any area. One year is the right period for that periodic review to take place. Surely it must be right that the public and the police are given the opportunity to raise objections after a year so that any difficulties, problems of harassment, or effects on the community can be taken into account. If I might make a point on Amendment 47, I believe that it would diminish the legislation that we have in front of us. If this amendment became law, operators could sidestep the new legislation entirely by getting variations of their Licensing Act 2003 licence which take no account of issues such as the character of the area, the appropriateness of premises in a locality or gender equality, thus nullifying this legislation. My amendments are supported by all the major women’s rights organisations, including Rights of Women, the Fawcett Society, Object, and by the major campaigners against violence against women, including Eaves as well as the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Because of the strength of feeling from all sides, both outside and inside your Lordships’ House, that the Bill is inadequate in protecting vulnerable women and communities, there has been considerable pressure on me to test the opinion of the House, if not today then at Third Reading. Before I take that decision, however, I shall await the Minster’s reply. I beg to move.