§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for the Social Services (1) whether the statute, rule or regulation requiring Scots residents in Scotland to apply to and travel to Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London for licences to leave the United Kingdom for the purposes of performing for profit, applies to all forms of employment abroad; and, if not, which categories of employment are involved; (2) what are the formal requirements which it is 35W necessary for Scots resident in Scotland to complete at the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London or other courts or institutions in England; (3) how many Scots resident in Scotland have had to apply to and travel to Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London for licences to leave the United Kingdom for the purpose of performing for profit, since the date on which the statute, rule or regulation governing these applications was brought into force; and if she will provide a breakdown of the figures stating the other countries involved and the number of applications year by year.
§ Dr. OwenThe provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, to which I referred in my reply to the hon. Member on 28th July, apply only to persons under 18 years of age going abroad to sing, play or perform for profit. As regards the formal requirements for obtaining licences, applicants for licences to perform abroad are required to furnish a surety for the observance of the conditions of the licence. They and their surety are also ordinarily required to attend an interview with the magistrate to satisfy him on the points laid down in Section 25(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. I regret that information about the applications which have been made by Scots resident in Scotland going back to 1933 and on the other countries involved is not readily available. The breakdown by years of the 10 applications since 1963, to which I referred in my reply to the hon. Member on 28th July, is as follows:
1963 1 1972 1 1965 1 1973 1 1966 1 1974 1 1970 1 1975 2 1971 1 —[Vol. 896, c. 411–4.]