All in the interests of preventing “public disorder”.
Bizarrely, 21 London boroughs have seen fit to implement exactly such a scheme. Only not for football, but for live music.
Using the ‘voluntary’ risk assessment Form 696, more than 100 London premises wanting to host live events must hand over - 14 days in advance - personal details of all performers to the Metropolitan Police.
The form places particular emphasis on certain musical genres (it lists: Bashment, R’n’B, Garage) while its initial version requested information about the ethnic make-up of the potential audience. This has since been amended to: Who is the target audience?
Ethnic profiling apart, there is little voluntary about the assessment process either. If venue owners don’t comply, they risk losing their licence. One particular North London council justifies Form 696 as part of the ongoing fight against the “prevention of terrorism”.
Unfortunately, such extreme and unfounded viewpoints are not isolated. In a recent interview, Detective Superintendent David Eyles of the Met’s Club and Vice office, commented: “Music promotions attract people who have a propensity to use violence. That’s not speculation. We have a duty to prevent that from happening.”
This is astonishing. Particularly when it comes to discussing music - one of this country’s greatest cultural assets.
Live music offers enjoyment to millions of music fans, attracts overseas visitors and provides the bedrock to a £6bn business. Without a healthy network of grassroots venues, young musicians will have nowhere to hone their craft, gain experience and - hopefully - realise their dreams.
The groundswell of reaction against Form 696 has certainly been heartening. Jon McClure’s Scrap The 696 petition to No.10 has attracted almost 15,000 signatories, while the Stop Form 696 Facebook group has picked up more than 25,000 members. There are eight other groups also on the site, and the story has been covered by Music Week, The Guardian, The Independent, Evening Standard, NME and BBC.
In May 2008, the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee added their weight to the argument, stating in its report on the Licensing Act 2003 that “music should not automatically be treated as a disruptive activity which will inevitably lead to nuisance and disorder.
“We therefore conclude that the Metropolitan Police’s Promotion and Event Assessment Form, Form 696, goes beyond the requirements of both the Act and its Guidance to impose unreasonable conditions on events and that it should be scrapped.”
UK Music remains adamant that the Committee’s assessment is correct and continues to lobby Government hard on the matter.
At the very least, we should be celebrating the fantastic success of the UK’s live music scene, not demonising it. Of the 1.7m events that took place over the past 12 months, I’d love to know what percentage truly constituted a risk to public order. And compare that to football-related activities over the same period.
Of course, when it comes to the beautiful game, a publican doesn’t need to inform the local constabulary if they want to broadcast an England match to their customers. How outrageous! Maybe someone should draw up a form and start taking names.
Form 697, anyone?
