Cinema licensing rules may be relaxed in the future.

Clare Bettison (Douglas East) raised the matter in the House of Keys this week. She asked Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan for details of cinematograph licences issued to companies and private individuals over the past 20 years.

Mr Cannan admitted it was not possible to give precise figures for the past two decades.

But figures were available for the period 2006-11, when they were collated for other purposes, he said.

’In 2006, 13 licences were issued, all of which were issued to business or trading entities,’ the minister revealed.

’In 2011, 17 licences were issued, 16 of which were issued to business or trading entities and one to an individual. In 2017, 19 licences have been issued, 15 of which were issued for business or trading entities and four to individuals.’

Miss Bettison asked Mr Cannan to ’review the necessity for these licences or consider whether an alternative structure would be more suitable to allow additional cinema-based activities provided by local companies to thrive in the island to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and to free up valuable court time’.

Mr Cannan replied: ’I think I have already committed that we will be having a look at a number of these licence fees in the very recent past. I am certainly happy to include this.’

He added he would be happy to talk with Miss Bettison if she had a ’specific view or idea as to how this can be managed and controlled properly in the future’.