Civil society organisations that wish to host film nights in village halls and community centres will be able to do so without needing an event licence, under a proposed new law published yesterday.
The Draft Deregulation Bill removes the requirement for licences, provided the screening takes place between 8am and 11pm, is not intended as a profit-making event, and the audience is no more than 500 people.
However, Filmbank Distributors Ltd have pointed that even though charities would no longer need a temporary event licence from the local authority, they will still have to obtain a film copyright licence. Such a licence must be obtained in order to screen any film outside the home.
Exempting not-for-profit organisations from event licences appears to be the only measure in the Bill specifically aimed at civil society organisations.
However, a number of other measures remove or reduce regulatory burdens for a number of different types of organisation, including civil society groups. These include measures relating to general and specific areas of business, companies and insolvency, the use of land, housing, transport, communications, the environment, education and training, entertainment, public authorities and the administration of justice.
This story was amended on 5 July 2013 to incorporate the comments from Filmbank Distributors Ltd.
