HC Deb 14 June 1990 vol 174 c317W
50. Mrs. Maureen Hicks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the enforcement of the Video Recordings Act 1984 which restricts retailers from hiring 18 videos to children under the age of 18 years.

61. Dame Jill Knight

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he is making of the effectiveness of the law prohibiting the sale of 18 classification videos to minors; and what steps he is taking to make enforcement more effective.

Mr. Mellor

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides powers for local authority trading standards officers to enforce the provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984 and the manner in which they discharge these duties is a matter for each local authority to decide. The Video Standards Council has recently drawn up a code of practice for the industry and we shall be monitoring its effectiveness closely. However, we have not ruled out the possibility of fresh legislation if such self-regulation proves inadequate.