Baroness Rawlings, a Government spokesperson, told the House of Lords the Coalition will help the Private Members' Bill become law, but with caveats.

The Bill, tabled by Lib Dem Lord Clement-Jones, includes plans to offer a licensing exemption to pubs that host gigs attracting an audience of 200 or fewer.

But Baroness Rawlings said certain criteria had to be met for the Bill to get the coalition's full support.

This would mean the "technical aspects" of de-regulation being examined to ...