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

The Conservative party has for the first time publicly backed the small gig 
exemptions from the Licensing Act recommended by the all-party Culture, 
Media and Sport Committee in May.

On 26 August the Conservative press office issued this statement:

'We welcome many of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's recommendations 
regarding live music and are saddened that the Labour Government has been so 
slow in acting on these recommendations.  We agree entirely that up to two 
unamplified live musicians ought to be exempt from the Act and that there is 
no need for venues with up to 200 capacity to be licensed for live music. 
Labour's policies are having a terrible effect on live music in this country 
and many musicians are struggling as a result.'

The CMS Committee also recommended that the controversial Met Police Form 
696 should be scrapped. Although this is not mentioned in the Conservative 
statement, if the Committee's exemptions were implemented, Form 696 could 
not be imposed as a licence condition on performances of live music in 
venues up to 200-capacity or where just one or two musicians were 
performing.   However, the form could remain a potential licence condition 
for venues where recorded music was played and dancing was taking place.

The online petition calling on the Prime Minister to scrap Form 696 has over 
17,700 signatures, and is 8th in the list of over 4,600 petitions on the 
Number 10 website: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Scrapthe696/

The petition calling on the PM to stop criminalising live music with the 
Licensing Act and to implement small gigs exemptions has nearly 8,000 
signatures and is 17th in the same list: 
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/livemusicevents/

ENDS