We are planning a series of organ recitals and other fund raisers next year, (all to help pay for long overdue organ repairs), but have run into one or two legal obstacles.

In the past we’ve just got on and organised these things without asking too many questions, but the new PCC is very keen that everything is done properly, and with a County Councillor on the PCC we are having to make sure that we abide by the letter of the licensing rules – although as yet we are still a little uncertain exactly how these apply.

I have read Barry’s excellent book “Everything Else an Organist Should Know”, which explains many things, but we are still a little unclear on a few points. I though this topic would be of general interest here, so I would be grateful for any authoritative advice on this matter.

Firstly, we have been advised that we need a performance licence, (even though the recitals will be held in the church), and that the performers must seek permission from music publishers before performing their works in public. This could be a problem as some of our scores are over 100 years old, and, (oddly enough), make no reference to copying, broadcasting or public performance!

Secondly, we have traditionally provided canapés and a glass of wine during intervals, and have left a plate for donations, but have been told this is no longer lawful unless an Occasional Licence is obtained. My understanding is that alcohol can be supplied as part of the 'package' provided there is no 'expectation' that alcohol will be supplied. (In other words, we cannot advertise a free glass of wine in our publicity or on tickets).

By contrast, I understand that prizes in draws and raffles may include alcohol, as there is no contract to supply. However, measures must be taken to prevent the supply to those aged 18 and under.

There seems to be plenty of authoritative information on-line about the Licensing Acts in Scotland, but nothing south of the border, so any advice would be welcome. The only advice we seem to get from the local council is to fill in the forms and pay up,

In terms of attendance, we would be lucky to get 100 people along to these events, and I would think that 40 or 50 is more likely.

SB

It's worth speaking to your local authority to discuss issues around event licencing and the sale of alcohol. Couch it in vague terms if you're unsure ("We're thinking of holding some concerts, what would we have to do?").

The Performing Rights Society will be able to advise what you need to do regarding performing rights.

As for raffles, it's always worth having a few prizes which aren't bottles of alcohol in case a small child wins. (As an aside, some friends held a barn dance at their church over the weekend, and we won both a bottle of port and a bottle of mead in the raffle ).

Good luck with the recitals

Thanks Deborah,
The people I have spoken to at the local council have been fairly useless, and seem to know less about the subject than we do! Their advice is to 'fill in the forms and apply for a licence'; which is all very well, but if we do this for every event it will cost us more than it's worth.

You are correct about raffles, and safeguarding young people from winning alcohol, but that is not so much of a problem.

We have a CCL license for music in worship, but we need to find out whether this covers musical events too.

SB

I will provide a detailed reply at the weekend. At the moment I am in the middle of a rather heavy five-day trial.

Barry Wiliams

Thanks Barry. I look forward to reading your reply.

Mind you, I thought it was rather quiet around here this week.

SB

It would never have occurred to me to ask these questions. I have organised events that involved large sums of money, including sponsorship, not asked about copright of music, and not concerned myself about the provision of wine. I imagine Barry's reply will imply that this is foolhardy, but from a pragmatic point of view, how likely is it that you will actually be 'shopped'? And even then, is it worth the police's time or the court's to prosecute a church for this type of thing? If I'd taken all this into account some of the events that we've staged would simply never have happened.

Me neither, but under the new order it seems these things have to be done. It also seems the church must be seen as a beacon of righteousness in all that we do, including cowing down to the present administration.

One option would be to unquestioningly fill in all the forms and pay the fees; but that is not my way.

Another option would be to ignore the law and get on with it, which is attractive, but probably unwise.

The third option, which I always find most attractive, is to gain a fuller understanding of the relevant legislation, so we can get away with achieve the maximum possible whilst filling in as few few forms and paying as few fees as we can.

SB

I despair. Whatever has happened to England. Where do the people come from that police such pettiness? Over here in Holland the organizers of such a low key event would play whatever music they felt like, provide wine and canapes AND advertise it on their tickets, and give not a second thought to it.

We are told that such legislation is for our own protection, and to stop people staggering around drunk in the street. Please note these are the same legislators who thought it was a good idea to open bars 24 hours a day.

SB

1. A Performance Licence relates to the engagement of children in public performace and is obtained from the Local Education Authority. It relates to events where a child performs for six days in a row at a public event.

2. A PRS licence is needed if any music in copyright (i.e. seventy years after the composer's death) is performed. It is NOT needed if any music outside this rule is performed. The cost of the licence relates to the size of the venue, ticket charge, etc. The minimum charge which covers most events is £24.30.

3. A Public Performance Licence is obtained from PPL and relates to playing recorded music in public.

4. An Occasional Licence is needed for the sale of alcohol. It is helpfully explained by this note which I obtained from the Internet:


Legal position prior to 1 September 2009

In relation to charity and fundraising events, these were typically catered for by way of an “Occasional Permission” under s.34 of the 1976 Act which allowed a voluntary organisation such as a church group to make application. These permissions could be used no more than 4 times a year.
In relation to weddings and events where a personal profit is made from the sale of alcohol, an existing licence holder would have to be found to apply for an “Occasional Licence” under s.33 of the 1976 Act.

These applications would typically cost £17 and would have to applied for up to 3 weeks in advance of the date it was required. The maximum duration of the effect was 14 days.

A third type of event would be completely unlicensed – and that is where no sale of alcohol occurred, or where no supply of alcohol occurred in return for a form of payment.

Legal position from 1 September 2009

The approach to this type of event will be governed by a new licensing Act, the 2005 Act, from 1 September 2009. Special events will still occur in church halls and related premises, so how does the new Act cater for these?

The 2005 Act merely provides for an “Occasional Licence” and there is no separate provision for an “Occasional Permission”. However, applicants for an occasional licence may be a premises licence holder, a personal licence holder, or a voluntary organisation. The maximum duration of an Occasional Licence remains at 14 days.

There is a new restriction on applications made by voluntary organisations; which is that they can only have up to 4 occasional licences covering a period of 4 or more days, and not more than 12 occasional licences for a period of 3 days of less, and between the two the maximum number of days which can be covered in total is 56.

Church groups which operate a large number of events may find this restrictive and cumbersome and instead turn their attention to the “personal licence” route. Any person can apply to hold a personal licence: you apply to the local licensing board where you reside; and so long as you are over 18, free of convictions, and have passed a training course, your application must be granted. The fee for a personal licence is £50. Once you are the holder of a personal licence, you can apply for as many occasional licences as you wish and it is entirely up to you what happens to the profit.

The fee for an occasional licence under the new system is only £10. It must, however, be applied for well in advance of the date required, perhaps as much as 52 days. The Government is looking at introducing a “fast track” system but this is not yet law.

What then, of events where no licence is sought but which alcohol is consumed? If there is no “sale” of alcohol then there is no licence required at all. What then, is a sale? Under the new Act a sale in itself is a sale of alcohol for money (or money’s worth) but is also a supply of alcohol pursuant to a contract. So, if an event had a £10 entry fee and the ticket said “Includes drink” then that would fall to be classed as a sale of alcohol. Only where the alcohol is genuinely provided free of charge can it safely be said that no licence is required.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Question 1
We are organising a revue to be put on in the Church hall and had planned to sell tickets for £5 which would indicate that the price would include wine and nibbles. Will this require a licence?

Answer 1
Yes –you will need to apply for an Occasional licence to cover the event.

Question 2
I note that where alcohol is provided as part of a meal or an event (e.g., Church lunch club or a Burns Supper) for which a charge is made, this requires a licence. What would be the position if the alcohol is not included in the cost of the meal/ticket?

Answer 2
If those purchasing the ticket are unaware that they will receive, say a glass of wine with their meal and the wine is therefore not part of the “package” they are paying for, in terms of the legislation, this would not require a licence. As will be appreciated, however, this sort of arrangement could well be perceived as being a "dodge" to circumvent the legislation. If the arrangement was challenged, it would be necessary to be able to show that those buying tickets had no expectation of alcohol being served at the event at no extra cost to them.

Question 3
What is the position about raffles, tombolas and bottle stalls and the like held on Church premises, where some of the prizes consist of bottles of alcohol? Is a licence required?

Answer 3
Since paying to participate conveys no right to the alcohol, this would not qualify as a sale and would be regarded as an "incidental non?commercial lottery" which is an exempt lottery in terms of the gambling legislation. There are, therefore, no licensing obligations for such arrangements. However, steps should be taken to ensure that such prizes cannot be won by children and young people under the age of 18.

I hope that this somewhat hurried response is helpful.

Barry Williams

PS You will have gathered that my case finished yesterday.

Thanks Barry, that is very helpful information indeed. I suspect that very few people were aware of this requirement, which is why I asked the question.

I am also pleased to hear that your case finished early. I won't ask about 'the result'.

One quick question: presumably the performance of music in copyright requires a PRS licence even if performed inside a church building? Would this be the case if no admission charges were made, but a 'retiring collection' was taken instead?

SB

Thanks Barry, that is very helpful information indeed. I suspect that very few people were aware of this requirement, which is why I asked the question.

I am also pleased to hear that your case finished early. I won't ask about 'the result'.

One quick question: presumably the performance of music in copyright requires a PRS licence even if performed inside a church building? Would this be the case if no admission charges were made, but a 'retiring collection' was taken instead?

SB


There is no exemption from PRS licences at all. By concession, though not by law, PRS does not seek to charge fees for acts of divine worship. Saying a prayer at the begining of an organ recital or concert does not change the basic nature of the event from a recital or concert into an act of worship. PRS equivalents abroad charge churches for performances of music in copyright when it is used in divine worship.

Charges, including collections, are irrelevant, save for being a factor in the computation of the PRS licence fee.

For a long while the PRS caused a number of recitalists to avoid the performance of contemporary music. One very fine player refused, for many years, to play anything still in copyright because of the unpleasant dealings that had arisen with PRS, who wrongly and vigorously pursued his agent for information, rather than the venues.

I should have mentioned that a CCLI licence will cover your concert for up to six (6) concerts a year, with various conditions, depending on the type and nature of the event. If the church has a CCLI licence check that out before paying PRS any money.

There is a freephone enquiry line for PRS. They are considerably more helpful these days than they were years ago, when their rather nasty style attracted a lot of justified criticism, particularly from charities for whom events had been arranged. Like many organisations, they have become 'user friendly'; a telephone call is always worthwhile.

Judgment in our case was reserved. It was a very complex tax issue. Indeed, we do not expect judgment to be handed down until early February. At one point, neither I, my opponent, my junior, nor the Bench (two very eminent judges) could understand one part of the law. We all got headaches! After two difficult trials in a fortnight I have decided to give the office a miss today, so my LRSM pieces are being practised.

Barry Williams

Thanks again Barry. Enjoy your organ practise.

SB

J and I attend the monthly organ recitals/concerts at Lytham Parish Church - St. Cuthberts - and wine is offered during the interval.

I haven't had time to read all the sound advise given above, but I'm sure "they" (the Lytham Organ Society) who promote the organ and concerts would be pleased to offer their advise. Google "Lytham Organ Society".

ps. it's ME in January - playing the concert that is!

d

"I'm sure "they" (the Lytham Organ Society) who promote the organ and concerts would be pleased to offer their advise."

Yes, this is a good idea. There may be one or two practical ways around the precise wording of the statute that lawyers might hesitate to suggest.

Barry Williams