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Lords Amendment: No. 24, in page 27, line 6, at end insert—
(ff) for the granting of a licence of a type other than that applied for;
§ Mr. MillanI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
The amendment would empower the licensing board to make a byelaw allowing it to grant a licence of a type other than that applied for. A similar provision in the original Bill was eliminated because we thought that the provision had been seldom used and we saw no use for it. We have had representations since then, particularly by representatives of the entertainment industry, that a provision of this type might be of advantage in a case, where, for example, a public house licence was applied for and refused in respect of a cinema. The licensing board, though not willing to give a public house licence, might be willing to give an entertainment licence. It is necessary to have some way in which this can be done.
We are doing it in this case not by general provision but by allowing the 1554 licensing board to make an appropriate byelaw. These byelaws will be subject to the confirmation of the Secretary of State. I can say now that in confirming them I shall be confirming them in the sense that the byelaw may provide for the licensing board to give a lesser licence rather than a greater one. If it were a greater certificate, or a more open one, it might be subject to abuse.
With that explanation, I hope that the amendment will be accepted.
§ Question put and agreed to.