Video Recordings Act 2010

Lord Clement-Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Clement-Jones]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will launch a consultation on the current exemptions from regulation under Section 2 of the Video Recordings Act 2010.

[Baroness Rawlings]

My Lords, Her Majesty's Government will launch a consultation paper by the summer. Publication has unfortunately been delayed because of the absence of evidence and statistics on the issue. Time is needed to secure the relevant evidence and statistics in order to make the base of evidence credible.

[Lord Clement-Jones]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that helpful reply, but this is unfinished business from last year’s Digital Economy Act. As my noble friend will have seen, the recent parents’ online poll on the Mumsnet website demonstrates conclusively the importance that parents attach to proper classification of some of those products which are currently exempt. I noted that the Minister said “by the summer”, but if the evidence is collected earlier than that, will the Government institute the consultation as soon as possible?

[Baroness Rawlings]

My noble friend Lord Clement-Jones is absolutely right. We have read the results of the Mumsnet survey with interest. It presented an interesting snapshot of views on some of the issues. We hope that people will respond as well to our larger, more detailed consultation in due course. We note that the survey did not reveal the possible criminal sanctions that already exist. Many noble Lords across the House are interested in this subject. I acknowledge that my noble friend has been pressing for legislation to remove exemptions for a long time. If we can get the evidence earlier, we will do so.