The Royal Albert Hall has urged MPs to back a bill aimed at updating the charity’s constitution amid concerns the legislation bill could be blocked.
The organisation has been attempting to make changes to its constitution through the Royal Albert Hall Bill, which was introduced to parliament in November 2022.
The hall must go through parliament for any changes to its constitution because it was established as a charity by royal charter.
The bill aims to make changes including amending the rules regarding the number of events seat-holders can be excluded from each year.
But the legislation has been criticised at various stages by peers and MPs for failing to address a longstanding perceived conflict of interest at the heart of the hall’s governance.
The conflict of interest arises because about a quarter of the hall’s more than 5,000 seats are privately owned and those seat-holders receive tickets for most of the events that take place in the historic venue.
But the charity’s 25-strong trustee board, known as its council, includes 19 people who own seats and who are therefore able to influence the commercial decisions over the events the venue puts on.
Earlier this year, representatives of the hall agreed an amendment with the Ways and Means Committee that would compel all council members and certain family members to declare the total amount of money they receive from the sale of their tickets each year.
The latest session of parliament is expected to end in the next few weeks before the new session begins with the King’s Speech on 13 May.
No date has yet been announced for the prorogation of parliament but any incomplete legislation that is not carried over at the end of a parliamentary session will fall and would be required to start its passage through parliament all over again.
In the House of Commons last week a motion was put forward that would allow the bill to be passed to the next parliamentary session.
But MPs including Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury and chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, objected to the motion, meaning it was not passed.
The matter is due to come back to parliament on 22 April, when Thornberry is expected to object again.
A spokesperson for the Royal Albert Hall said: “We do not yet understand the reasons for the objection to the bill, and we hope any concerns can be resolved.
“The bill is important because it gives a proper legal basis for arrangements under which seatholders give up some attendance rights, helping the hall put on better and bigger events by allowing promoters to use the whole auditorium.
“We worked with the Ways and Means Committee to agree an undertaking under which ticket income from the sale of trustees’ tickets will be declared, improving transparency around the hall’s governance.
“We urge all parties not to stand in the way of this important bill passing in the interests of the charity.”
