Open Letter by Leading Local Authority Representatives Calls for Tougher Lap Dance Licensing Reform

Today leading local authority representatives sent an open letter to peers and the press supporting OBJECT and Fawcett's calls for lap dancing licensing reform to be compulsory with no frequency-based exemption.

The text is repeated below:


Today members of the House of Lords vote on whether to guarantee all  
local communities a greater say in the licensing of lap dancing events  
in their areas. Since the Licensing Act 2003 came in to force, lap  
dancing clubs have been licensed in the same way as cafes and  
restaurants. As a result the number of clubs has doubled to 300 and  
residents and local authorities have been powerless to stop the spread.


Following a two year campaign led by the Fawcett Society and OBJECT,  
reforms to lap dancing club licensing have been included in the  
Policing and Crime Bill, now in its final stage in the Lords. But the  
reforms are too weak: they are optional for local authorities and  
exempt venues hosting lap dancing less than 11 times a year. We  
believe this will create a patchwork licensing landscape open to  
exploitation by the lap dancing industry and will fail to guarantee  
all local communities a greater say in lap dancing licensing  
decisions. A market in lap dancing agencies is also likely to prosper  
in light of a frequency-based exemption, and the safety of women  
performing at infrequent lap dancing events in pubs and clubs will  
likely be compromised by inadequate facilities. We as local  
authorities would be powerless to impose licensing conditions to  
protect against this.


The optional nature of licensing reforms and frequency-based exemption  
will undermine our ability to regulate lap dancing clubs in our  
communities, and must be removed from the Bill.



Signatories

Cllr Colin Cook, Chair, Licensing and Gambling Acts  Committee, Oxford City Council

Cllr Chris Roberts, Leader, Greenwich London Borough Council

Jim Messenger, Licensing Manger, Carlisle City Council

Richard Langdon, Licensing Solicitor

Cllr Abjol Miah, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Dulal Uddin, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Mamun Rashid, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Fozol Miah,  Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Mohammed Abdul Munim Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Harun Miah, Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

Cllr Barbara Weed, Warwick District Council

Cllr Sue Luxton, Lewisham London Borough Council