The NCA has now submitted its reponse to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) latest consultation on the Licensing Act, which proposes to exempt live music events for audiences of not more than 100 people from the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003. The proposals are intended to make it easier for both licensed premises such as clubs and pubs, and unlicensed premises such as cafes, restaurants, scout huts, record shops, etc. to stage small, live music events. Furthermore, musicians will benefit, since the greater availability of venues will offer them a platform to perform and to be heard.

The response can be read here.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has today published Sarah Thane’s report into Child Performance regulations. The report makes a number of recommendations on how the licensing system for child performers can be overhauled and re-balanced.

During the third day of the House of Lords report stage into the Digital Economy Bill, Lord Clement-Jones once again drew attention to the Save Our Sound UK campaign, explaining that the programme-making and special events (PMSE) sector was unhappy with the way in which the Government had not made their intentions clear regarding compensation for the loss of spectrum and radio microphones.

The NCA is seeking members’ comments on its draft response to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) latest consultation on the Licensing Act, which proposes to exempt live music events for audiences of not more than 100 people from the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003. DCMS envisage that the proposals will make it easier for both licensed premises such as clubs and pubs, and unlicensed premises such as cafes, restaurants, scout huts, record shops, etc. to stage small, live music events. Furthermore, musicians will benefit, since the greater availability of venues will offer them a platform to perform and to be heard.

In a week filled with events, the NCA also held a seminar to examine the potential political landscape after the election, what implications these outcomes might have for the arts sector and what the sector can do to argue its case in the run up to, during and beyond the election campaign. Andrew Hawkins, CEO of political pollsters ComRes and analyst Daniel Hamilton presented an analysis looking at the likely outcome of the forthcoming election, considering why the outcome is so difficult to predict with any certainty, where the key battleground seats are, and what the implications are likely to be for policy making in the initial months of the new government.

The General Election must take place before Thursday 3rd June, 2010. Candidates’ policy priorities will be based on the concerns and opinions expressed by their local constituents. The NCA urges members to use the Arts Manifesto as an advocacy tool to promote the importance of art in your constituency. Contacting local politicians can make a real difference, especially during election time, so please put pen to paper for the sake of the arts.

Unusually so close after Christmas, Parliament is focussed on no fewer than four pieces of legislation which are of interest to the arts sector.

The Digital Economy Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords, scrutinising proposed legislation and measures, some of which could, if accepted, have a great deal of impact on the sector.

On Wednesday the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, delivered his Pre-Budget Report (PBR) to the House of Commons. Much speculation had surrounded the PBR with commentators expecting new announcements on VAT and hard-hitting measures to curb bankers’ bonuses.

The Government has this week laid out its plan for reducing the cost of government while protecting front line services. Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government aims to release £12 billion a year of public spending; this is over and above the £26.5 billion a year of savings which government departments have made since 2004 through the Gershon review and “the further £35 billion a year reduction to which they are already committed by 2011.”   

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a digest of the bill, which was announced during the Queen’s speech last week. The bill outlines a number of proposals which may have an impact on the arts sector. There has been much publicity about the online file-sharing measure, in which internet users may be disconnected following 3 counts of illegal file-sharing. The bill also aims to modernise and facilitate the copyright system, support the plurality of regional and local news, and extend public lending rights to include digital material such as audio and e-books, providing reward to artists and producers when material is lent out from public libraries.

Once again, the Queen’s speech during this year’s State Opening of Parliament made fleeting reference at best to the arts. The micro-speech, lasting less than 7 minutes, panned by David Cameron as the Prime Minister’s desperate attempt “to relaunch his political career”, contained 13 bills, 3 of which were carried over from the previous session. The main focus was on pensioners, parents, and economic recovery, but it is the Digital Economy Bill and Children, Schools and Family Bill which may impact the arts sector.

The Executive Summary of the Arts Index is available to everyone. The full copy of the Arts Index report is only available to members of the NCA. Click here for details on how to join.

The production of the Arts Index would not have been possible without the help and support of the following organisations, to whom we are enormously grateful:

Audiences UK, Audiences London, Americans for the Arts, Arts and Business, Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council Northern Ireland and The Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

Thanks too to Don Foster MP for sponsoring the launch at the House of Commons, and to Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, Shadow Culture Minister Dan Jarvis, John Nickson and Ivan Cutting for speaking.