Leading article: Strange indulgence of the sex industry

We live in times in which "moral" social issues are debated with as much passion as they ever were. Our national conversation is dominated by topics such as the growth of gambling, the scourge of anti-social behaviour and a surge in binge drinking. But there is one classic moral area that, rather curiously, has gone under the radar in recent years: strip clubs.

What makes this omission even stranger is the fact that the industry has been growing at a furious rate. Five years ago, "gentlemen's clubs", as they were once euphemistically known, were few and far between. Those that existed were restricted to discreet corners of London and other large cities. Today, there are more than 300 such establishments, and they can be found on the high streets of even the most unlikely small towns.

But there are signs that the bizarre indulgence that society has offered to this burgeoning sector of the sex industry is ending. A 10-Minute Rule Bill will be introduced in the House of Commons today calling for the licensing rules governing strip clubs to be tightened. Eighty MPs have registered their support.

The growth of the sector was a consequence of the Government's desire to simplify the licensing laws. The 2003 Licensing Act took lap-dancing clubs out of the category requiring a special "sex encounter" licence and lumped them together with pubs, cafés and restaurants. The owners of lap-dancing clubs now require only a food and drink licence to ply their trade.

The consequence is that local authorities have lost the power to stop lap-dancing clubs being established in residential areas, however much residents might protest. Where councils try to refuse them permission to set up shop, the courts have no choice but to decide in favour of the clubs' owners. Paradoxically, while local councils can prevent sex shops and sex cinemas being established in inappropriate locations, they can do nothing to keep out a lap-dancing club.

The entertainment that consenting adults seek behind closed doors is their own business. Though they are undoubtedly seedy and distasteful, strip clubs should not be regulated out of existence. So long as no one is being coerced into anything and no one is being directly harmed, they should be tolerated. That said, the Government ought to modify the law so that communities, through their local representatives, find it easier to prevent strip clubs opening in inappropriate locations. The 2003 Act got the balance wrong.

The right of adults to find harmless ways in which to amuse themselves is a wonderful thing. But so is local democracy.

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