Lord Beaumont hates all piped music. He made the House of Lords
aware in February of the psychological stress inflicted on
department store staff when Jingle Bells is repeated up to 300
times a day in the run up to Christmas. But his Private Members'
Bill, published on Tuesday, focuses on the muzak players of greater
concern.
"Consumers can vote with their feet and pockets and go to other
pubs, shops or restaurants, so persuading retailers to change or
end their tune," he said in February. "Many successful businesses
such as Tesco flourish without piped music. However, such freedom
of choice does not expect to public places such as hospitals,
doctors' surgeries, public swimming pools and libraries, buses and
trains, rail and bus stations and airports."
For those lying immobilised on a hospital bed, there may be no
rest from non-stop music, be it from a radio, TV or hospital music
system. "Such unwanted and inescapable noise can make their health
problems worse," he said.
According to PipeDown, a campaign for freedom from piped music
of which Lord Beaumont is a member, unwanted noise raises the blood
pressure and depresses the immune system. For blind people who rely
on background noise to navigate, piped music can be upsetting. For
some people with hearing problems, it can be painful.
Lord Beaumont also told his peers of a study by Nottingham
University's medical school which found that music made waiting
blood donors more anxious before donating and more likely to be
depressed after donating.
"For patients on hospital wards, the supply of headphones ought
to be regarded as universal and mandatory," said Lord Beaumont.
Genuinely quiet carriages on trains are hard to find, he pointed
out, and many carriages pipe TV to stressed commuters.
This is not the first attempt to ban muzak. Robert Key,
Conservative MP for Salisbury, tried it in 2000, citing the
problems for deaf or blind people, but his Private Members' Bill
failed. More recently, Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat MP for
Colchester, made an Early Day Motion to the House of Commons in
April to place on record the House's appreciation to the UK Noise
Association, a coalition of organisations lobbying on different
aspects of noise, including piped music, for its continuing work
against noise pollution.
This week's proposal is short. If passed, the Secretary of State
would be obliged to draw up a plan of measures to ban pre-recorded
background music and TV in the public areas of hospitals and on all
public transport journeys of less than 50 miles. Headphones would
be compulsory for people listening to music in the public areas of
hospitals and on all public transport journeys over 50 miles.
The Bill includes exceptions: TV programmes to safeguard the
welfare of users of hospitals or travellers, or those deemed by the
Secretary of State to be in the public interest, are allowed. So
looping guidance on hospital hygiene might be permitted while MTV
would not.
It is unlikely that Lord Beaumont's Bill will become a law.
Private Members' Bills rarely do. But like most such Bills, it
helps to raise awareness of an issue that will strike a chord with
many. Lord Beaumont's and PipeDown's campaigning will surely
continue.
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