The following from Hamish Birchall http://www.livemusicforum.co.uk/

As reported yesterday, the government has confirmed that they do not have 
current statistics for the provision of live music in pubs, or any other 
type of venue.

Since 2008 DCMS has collected data allowing an estimate of the overall 
proportion of licensed premises that have no live music permission: about 
60%.  This can be broken down to premises with permission for on- or 
off-sales of alcohol.  But, as their surveys no longer differentiate between 
types of venue, and have never looked at live music licence conditions or 
their implementation, there is no data for the current provision of live 
music, or even the potential for that provision, in pubs or any other venue 
category:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/AE-Statistics-bulletin-2008.pdf

But this hasn't stopped the government and the Local Government Association 
misusing the data to oppose to the Culture Committee's recommended 
exemptions for small gigs.

On 14 July, as reported in Music Week, DCMS defensively cited an apparent 7% 
rise in premises licensed for live music between 2007 and 2008 to counter 
Feargal Sharkey's criticisms of the government position:

'In fact, there was a 7% increase in venues licenced to stage live music 
between 2007 and 2008, so we totally reject the suggestion that the 
Licensing Act has lead to a decrease in live music venues.'
http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1038177&c=1

The leaked LGA live music strategy briefing 'Licensed Premises - LGA view', 
dating from April, also uses this data, claiming an 8% rise for premises 
with a live music permission.

The headline finding of the last DCMS live music survey, the British Market 
Research Board study of 2007, was the 5% decrease in live music provision 
since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force (in November 2005).  This was 
highlighted by Sharkey in his criticism of the government's rejection of the 
Culture Committee recommendations.

But even if we set aside that 5% decrease, neither DCMS nor the LGA have any 
idea what type of venue is included in their claimed rise of 7 or 8%, no 
idea what licence restrictions may apply, or if they have even been 
implemented, and no idea whether there is any live music actually being 
performed.  As the recent St Albans examples show, licence conditions can be 
absurdly restrictive.

The House of Lords information office said yesterday that the government 
answer confirming that they no longer keep statistics on live music by venue 
category will not be available online until 7th September.  So here is the 
full Q&A - with a small correction: the answer was in fact provided by Lord 
Davies of Oldham, not Lord Carter of Barnes as I reported yesterday:

Lord Clement-Jones tabled three questions:

How many (a) student unions, (b) clubs and associations, (c) church halls 
and community centres, (d) pubs and inns, (e) small clubs, (f) hotels and 
(g) restaurants and cafes had a premises licence or a club premises 
certificate in each year since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force. 
[HL5228]

How many new applications were granted for the performance of live music in 
(a) student unions, (b) clubs and associations, (c) church halls and 
community centres, (d) pubs and inns, (e) small clubs, (f) hotels and (g) 
restaurants and cafes in each year since the Licensing Act 2003 came into 
force. [HL5229]

How many (a) student unions, (b) clubs and associations, (c) church halls 
and community centres, (d) pubs and inns, (e) small clubs, (f) hotels and 
(g) restaurants and cafes were licensed for the performance of live music in 
each year since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force. [HL5230]

Lord Davies of Oldham's answer 27 July 2009:

'We do not hold all of the information that has been requested.  Since the 
implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, DCMS has been collecting Alcohol, 
Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment statistics for England and Wales on 
an annual basis by financial year from licensing authorities.  The 
statistical collection identifies how many premises have permission, in the 
form of a premises licence or club premises certificate, to put on regulated 
entertainment, including live music.  However, it is not known how many 
different types of premises (e.g. student unions) have obtained an 
appropriate permission to cover live performances of music.  In some cases, 
a premises may decide to put on an event by giving a temporary event notice. 
The latest statistical bulletin reports there were an estimated 195,500 
premises licences and 17,500 club premises certificates as at 31st March 
2008 in England and Wales.  These include an estimated 80,500 premises 
licences with live music provisions and an estimated 10,900 club premises 
certificates with live music provisions.  There is no centrally collected 
data on the number of new applications granted solely for the performance of 
live music.'

ENDS