British Board of Film Classification

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Storey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to re-examine the status of those films, videos and DVDs currently exempt from classification by the British Board of Film Classification.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, under the Video Recordings Act 1984, videos on recordable media, such as DVDs, are classified by the British Board of Film Classification. However, to date many products about sports, music, religion and education have been exempt from this requirement. Following a public consultation, the Government announced last month that they will bring forward legislation to tighten up the exemptions and to ensure that, in future, any products in these genres will be classified if they contain material deemed to be unsuitable for younger children.

[Lord Storey]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. I am sure that he is not aware of Cannibal Corpse’s “Live Cannibalism” DVD being legally supplied to British children or, indeed, the double-disc set “His Name was Jason: Thirty Years of Friday the 13th”, so the change in the law for such content to be brought within the regulatory scope of the BBFC cannot come too soon.

I note that the Government’s announcement also mentioned another potential loophole in the current regime, that being online music videos. Does my noble friend believe that the music industry should consider following the example of the home entertainment industry by adopting BBFC classifications for online music videos?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I think we are agreed that the number one priority in all we are seeking to do is to protect children. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State have been rightly robust about this, as have many noble Lords. The Government are taking action to protect children from inappropriate content, and there are strong intentions in the online area as well because it is clearly the case that children are viewing content online. We are therefore going to do more in the area of online video labelling, and we are working with many organisations and parents to deal with music or anything that could be potentially harmful to younger children.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on confirming that the Government have decided to act decisively to ensure that currently exempt material which is potentially harmful to children is brought within the regulatory ambit of the BBFC. I mention this because as long ago as 2009 I moved amendments in this House seeking to change the law in this area. How swiftly does the Minister think that this change to the current regime can be implemented? I know that it has the support of the BBFC and, most importantly, of the parents of vulnerable children.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I know of the deep interest of the noble Baroness in content available online, which we need to deal with. So far as this matter is concerned, we are working carefully to ensure that the definitions dealing with violent sexual behaviour and swearing are worded so as to ensure that they identify all products that are unsuitable for younger children. The final version of the definitions will be written into the draft legislation that is to be issued for consultation soon. We want to get it right and we would very much welcome any comments. We will then need to notify the EU about the new regulations, following which there will be the secondary legislative process.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the greatest crime of the 21st century is the destruction of childhood innocence? The second greatest crime is preventing young people growing up normally and naturally. Will he be a little bit generous in his interpretation of the word “children” to make sure that we do not expose young men in puberty and girls of equivalent age to things which, frankly, they should never ever be able to see?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I have sympathy with my noble friend. Childhood at whatever age is a very precious time of our lives and children should be able to enjoy it. It is important that the Government should work with parents because their first priority and responsibility is looking after their children. It is obvious that online content is troubling many parents, so that is why we are working to set up internet parental controls and are working with wi-fi providers on a number of issues. In that way, we can ensure that children do not see inappropriate content.

[Lord Swinfen]

My Lords, new products are being developed at an ever increasing rate. Will the Government ensure that the regulations are drafted in such a way that they can be easily and quickly updated to deal with new products coming on to the market and so safeguard our children?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, it is very much a feature of technology moving so fast that we also need to ensure that the checks and controls are appropriately calibrated so that whatever happens with technological advances children do not see inappropriate content, which is what we want to ensure.

[Lord Laming]

My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that, so far as children and young people are concerned, this material represents for them the values of our society and therefore our society has a special responsibility to make sure that what is conveyed actually accords to our values and beliefs, especially about childhood?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

The noble Lord again raises an important point. That is why, across the piece, the Government, industry and charity, through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, are working so much together and why the Secretary of State is having a summit meeting on 18 June with the major internet service providers, mobile operators, search engines and social media companies to explore all that can be done to ensure that children remain safe.

[The Earl of Glasgow]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the scheme practised quite a lot in Italy by which DVDs and controversial material of that sort are classified by the users themselves and the users’ classification then becomes legal?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I have been quite busy learning about what happens in the United Kingdom, so I was not aware of what might be happening in Italy. However, I think—and I am sure it is what my noble friend was alluding to—we need to make sure that whether it is by age verification or whatever that children remain secure.