§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a review into the effectiveness of the enforcement of the current law on the availability of violent videos to children. [1208]
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§ Mr. SackvilleThe Video Recordings Act 1984 makes it a criminal offence to supply an unclassified video, subject to certain limited exemptions, or to supply a video in breach of the classification certificate issued by the British Board of Film Classification—BBFC.
The operation of the Act is kept under careful review. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 increased the maximum penalties for supplying unclassified videos—to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine—and for supplying a video in breach of its classification—to six months in prison and/or a £5,000 fines. The 1994 Act also increased the powers of trading standards officers in investigating video offences, and amended the Video Recordings Act 1984 to lay down statutory classification criteria which the BBFC must take into account.