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Brassed off by red tape over our Royal date
BEING invited to play in front of the Prince of Wales was an honour for the Tewit Youth Band.
But it turned into a bureaucratic nightmare when North Yorkshire County Council intervened and now the Prince himself has promised an investigation.
Six days before the Prince was due to reopen the Royal Hall in Harrogate after a 10.7m refurbishment, the council told the band it could not take part because members aged 16 and under needed a licence to perform.
The band, which recruits from 11 schools in Richmond, Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough, had met for weeks of rehearsals for the Royal concert in front of an invited audience and suddenly everything seemed in jeopardy.
It was the first time in 30 years there had ever been any mention of the need for a licence. What's more with the band performing in 26 concerts or competitions each year, it would be impossible to apply for licences for up to 70 members each time.
Eventually Theresa Jackson, of the council's Child Employment Project, agreed to a compromise – but even that was not simple.
President Colin Gibbs said: "She told me, as a special favour, she would waive the 21-day application requirement for this 'special' event if I could complete a four-page application form, obtain a photocopy of every birth certificate and supply two passport photographs for each of the 30 members playing at this concert."
Short of disappointing the young musicians, Mr Gibbs was left with no alternative to completing the four-page form for each band member, getting their parents to sign and obtaining permission from their headteachers for them to be absent from school.
"Bearing in mind the band draws its members from all over North Yorkshire, this was a mammoth task. All this had to be completed within three days. Considering the importance of this concert and the preparations already completed, I felt we had little option but to comply with this bureaucratic bullying."
And it did not end there.
Mr Gibbs says he was told the band needed at least three chaperones, who had been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau. Teachers among the band's parents agreed to be chaperones, but were required to have licences as well as clearance to attend the Royal event.
Mr Gibbs has written complaining about North Yorkshire's requirements to the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and the Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Phil Willis.
He has received an immediate reply from the Prince's Private Secretary, Elizabeth Buchanan, congratulating the Tewit Youth Band on a remarkable performance and raising concern over the hurdles put before the young musicians.
She said: "It played quite magnificently and his Royal Highness was so pleased to be able to hear for himself a band about which he has heard so much. He is therefore thrilled that you sent him a CD which will always remind him of a very happy visit to Harrogate.
"However, his Royal Highness was less than pleased to hear of the great difficulty which you faced in arranging the concert. It goes beyond imagining and he has asked me to make further inquiries. I hope you might be able to bear with me while we look into the situation."
Mr Gibbs said there were massive implications if such checks were required.
"This action is going to create a situation where organisations like ours – and there are thousands in Yorkshire alone – will be forced to close down, being unable to keep up with the bureaucracy," he said.
A council spokeswoman said: "Keeping our schoolchildren protected and safe is a priority for North Yorkshire County Council and legislation is in place to ensure that this happens."
She confirmed a letter had been received from the Tewit Youth Band concerning the procedures they were asked to follow. "We are looking into the matter and will of course respond to the band with our findings."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
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Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
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