Council starts charging for child performance licences
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:59 pm
From The Stage:
Britain’s largest young performer school franchise, Stagecoach, has said it is “appalled” by Islington Council’s decision to introduce charges on licences for child actors.
The authority recently imposed a fee of £25 for processing licences, a cost that more than doubles if the application does not arrive seven working days before a youngster’s first appearance on stage.
Tarquin Shaw-Young, head of casting for Stagecoach, said he knew of three production companies that had turned down children from the borough on account of the charges, which are paid for by producers rather than parents.
Speaking to The Stage, Shaw-Young said: “I am appalled by it really. Having worked tirelessly for the last five years with lots of other people to try and change children’s licensing […] This will just throw a spanner in the works, as far as I am concerned.”
Shaw-Young, whose employer has 600 branches involving 30,000 children nationwide, said he was unaware of other local authorities imposing a standard fee.
Islington’s late submission charge was introduced in 2009 but the decision to make all applicants pay was passed late last year and is only now affecting local youngsters.
Ian Hart, chair of the National Network for Children in Employment and Entertainment, said it “appears fundamentally inappropriate” to charge for licences when the applicant gives the council the full 21-day window to process the application.
Hart, who is also the child employment enforcement and strategy manager for Surrey County Council, said “almost all” local authorities do not charge.
He added: “We are already aware of the fact that major broadcasters and other high-profile agencies and personnel who engage children have made a policy decision, and will not be using children from local authority areas where there is a charge. This widens the so-called postcode lottery further, at a time when we are at a delicate stage of negotiations with central government through their review of the outdated legislation for children engaged in entertainment. So it is disappointing.
“It is not, however, for NNCEE to criticise or to make decisions for local authorities, but yes of course, we would prefer all children to have the same opportunity, and experience shows that broadcasters particularly are very mindful of reducing unnecessary cost.”
Entertainment lawyer at Ralli Solicitors Keith Arrowsmith said there might be legal implications in Islington Council’s decision to charge a fee for all applications.
He said: “The Children (Performances) Regulations of 1968 clearly set out the mechanism to apply for a licence, including the format of the application form. The council is under a duty to issue a licence if those regulations are complied with, and it is my opinion that a parent would fully comply with the statutory application process without payment of the fee. I would be interested to see if Islington Council can provide a reason why their application form deviates from that set out in the regulations and how they justify their charge as lawful.”
An Islington spokesman said: “We make no charge for the issue of the licence itself but we do charge to cover the costs associated with the extensive background checking that safeguards a child’s welfare. We plan our work, so late applications can have a knock-on effect on our activity and costs.”
Islington Council also said the authority had seen no decrease in the number of applications being made since the charges were introduced, but that the quantity of late applications had fallen “significantly”.
Last year the coalition government pledged to update the 40-year-old rules on child licensing to ensure youngsters are not denied opportunities to perform.
Following Sarah Thane’s report into child licensing laws, a handful of working groups are being set up to address specific issues, including improving safeguarding arrangements and considering whether amateur groups should be exempt from the laws.
� Is your local authority proposing to charge for child performer licences? If so, contact newsdesk@thestage.co.uk
Britain’s largest young performer school franchise, Stagecoach, has said it is “appalled” by Islington Council’s decision to introduce charges on licences for child actors.
The authority recently imposed a fee of £25 for processing licences, a cost that more than doubles if the application does not arrive seven working days before a youngster’s first appearance on stage.
Tarquin Shaw-Young, head of casting for Stagecoach, said he knew of three production companies that had turned down children from the borough on account of the charges, which are paid for by producers rather than parents.
Speaking to The Stage, Shaw-Young said: “I am appalled by it really. Having worked tirelessly for the last five years with lots of other people to try and change children’s licensing […] This will just throw a spanner in the works, as far as I am concerned.”
Shaw-Young, whose employer has 600 branches involving 30,000 children nationwide, said he was unaware of other local authorities imposing a standard fee.
Islington’s late submission charge was introduced in 2009 but the decision to make all applicants pay was passed late last year and is only now affecting local youngsters.
Ian Hart, chair of the National Network for Children in Employment and Entertainment, said it “appears fundamentally inappropriate” to charge for licences when the applicant gives the council the full 21-day window to process the application.
Hart, who is also the child employment enforcement and strategy manager for Surrey County Council, said “almost all” local authorities do not charge.
He added: “We are already aware of the fact that major broadcasters and other high-profile agencies and personnel who engage children have made a policy decision, and will not be using children from local authority areas where there is a charge. This widens the so-called postcode lottery further, at a time when we are at a delicate stage of negotiations with central government through their review of the outdated legislation for children engaged in entertainment. So it is disappointing.
“It is not, however, for NNCEE to criticise or to make decisions for local authorities, but yes of course, we would prefer all children to have the same opportunity, and experience shows that broadcasters particularly are very mindful of reducing unnecessary cost.”
Entertainment lawyer at Ralli Solicitors Keith Arrowsmith said there might be legal implications in Islington Council’s decision to charge a fee for all applications.
He said: “The Children (Performances) Regulations of 1968 clearly set out the mechanism to apply for a licence, including the format of the application form. The council is under a duty to issue a licence if those regulations are complied with, and it is my opinion that a parent would fully comply with the statutory application process without payment of the fee. I would be interested to see if Islington Council can provide a reason why their application form deviates from that set out in the regulations and how they justify their charge as lawful.”
An Islington spokesman said: “We make no charge for the issue of the licence itself but we do charge to cover the costs associated with the extensive background checking that safeguards a child’s welfare. We plan our work, so late applications can have a knock-on effect on our activity and costs.”
Islington Council also said the authority had seen no decrease in the number of applications being made since the charges were introduced, but that the quantity of late applications had fallen “significantly”.
Last year the coalition government pledged to update the 40-year-old rules on child licensing to ensure youngsters are not denied opportunities to perform.
Following Sarah Thane’s report into child licensing laws, a handful of working groups are being set up to address specific issues, including improving safeguarding arrangements and considering whether amateur groups should be exempt from the laws.
� Is your local authority proposing to charge for child performer licences? If so, contact newsdesk@thestage.co.uk