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Video Recordings Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comprehensive introduction of the Bill. We all have the same purpose today. As a result of the then Government failing to notify the European Commission of certain technical aspects—the classification and labelling requirements—of the Video Recordings Act 1984, we now know that the Act is void—I assume we can use that word—in respect of those technical aspects. The Act is important protective legislation which has always had the support of these Benches. It sets the basis for the classification of video recordings, it makes provision to prevent the sale of inappropriate material to children and it counters the ability of people to sell counterfeit video recordings, principally DVDs. We on these Benches have made it clear that we support steps to ensure that the legislation gets back on to the statute book as soon as possible. We agree that the key conditions for fast-tracking as laid down by the Constitution Committee of this House have been met. However, despite what I am sure is both novel and impeccable drafting by parliamentary counsel, a number of issues arise from the fact that these provisions of the original Act are void. There is the important issue of previous prosecutions of people under the Video Recordings Act. The Minister has given us some reassurance, but how retroactive is the Bill in its impact on the 1984 Act? The Minister claims that convictions will stand, but surely that is true only if appeals are out of time—which is what I took from what he said. However, this may not be a matter of appeal. If the provisions are void, surely somebody can go to court and seek a declaration that the original prosecutions were void and that no appeal is necessary. I hope the Minister will deal with this matter. If the Act was never validly enforced then surely the prosecutions brought under it are void. We have all had the very useful LACORS and BBFC briefing. Many retailers and producers have sensibly continued to behave as if the 1984 Act were still in force. However, we understand from the briefing that the number of submissions for classification has fallen dramatically. The noble Lord, Lord Luke, and the Minister referred to the reduction of 11 per cent, bearing in mind that for most of the year it was assumed that the 1984 Act was in force. By October the figure was down by 20 per cent, and for the first half of November it was down by 38 per cent, as the Minister mentioned. Again according to the brief from the BBFC and LACORS, a number of councils and their trading standards officers are being pursued through the courts for carrying out what they thought in good faith were statutory obligations under the Video Recordings Act. In hindsight, they were wrong. If the VRA was not in force and they were seeking to prosecute people for breaches of a non-existent Act, one can understand why those people might be aggrieved and seek redress. What assistance are the Government providing to local authorities in that position? As the briefing also points out, breaches of the Act have been taking place in a growing number of places around the country. The BBFC and LACORS are particularly concerned about the sale of inappropriate material to underage young people in the interregnum period. They cite many examples. In Cheltenham, law enforcement officers have been unable to pursue a newsagent selling R18 and unrated porn DVDs that are displayed above an ice-cream cabinet. In Manchester, trading standards officers have dropped three VRA cases involving 3,000 videos. In Powys, trading standards officers are unable to pursue seven cases of underage video games sales; and in Brent, trading standards officers are unable to prosecute three high street stores for selling age-restricted video games to children. Have all these retailers got away with it, or will they be prosecuted? Where prosecutions have been dropped, has the department considered whether prosecutions would be possible under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, which in certain circumstances could be used in respect of the sale of material to underage people? The 1959 Act proscribes the distribution, circulation, sale, giving or loan of obscene material. I recognise that it is not an ideal piece of legislation—that is why the 1984 Act was put into effect. However, if the retailers are going to get away scot free, what consideration are the Government giving to using other forms of legislation? The Government are right to get the Bill on to the statute book as quickly as possible, in order to return the protection that the VRA brings and to enable the BBFC and local authorities to continue their important work. However, important issues have been created, which I have highlighted and which I hope the Minister will address. We will debate amendments to the VRA during our consideration of the Digital Economy Bill, but let us first get the Act back on to the statute book.