My Lords, I thank noble Lords who contributed to this debate. It is a good topic and one which we have been happy to put our names to in order for it to have the best possible chance of being successful.
The noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, will not mind me saying that when I first came down as a raw and untutored-in-the-cinematic-arts person from Scotland, she was one of the first people I met. She wowed me then, and she wows me now. That performance—Floella, you were wonderful.
I am very pleased to be able to support this update of legislation that was last updated in 1963. Clearly, as we have heard, the world of television and film performance has been transformed since then. As noble Lords mentioned, it is important that the legislation
properly reflects the full range of opportunities available to young people and at the same time builds in safeguards that will protect them from exploitation or physical or mental harm.
However, the chance to be involved in film and television work—indeed, this also applies to stage work—depends where you live, with local authorities operating rules in a very inconsistent way. There are also huge disparities in the amount of paperwork required. We need to update the legislation. It needs to widen the types of involvement suitable for child participants and to make sure that it covers the range, as has been mentioned, away from just simply acting and singing. What a wonderful world 1963 must have been if that was all you could do. I would not know. “Stop mucking about”.
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The key to the proposal is the need for a proper risk assessment to be carried out. It is important that we work out who should do that. I do not think that was as well brought out in the Sarah Thane report as it could have been. The amendments are firm in saying that it should be the producer. That may well be the case, but the traditional categories that have been operating in television and film may not be sufficient to take us forward for another 40 or 50 years. If the Minister is able to take us forward on this matter, we might look again at exactly what the responsibility is, because it is important to get that right.
It is also very important to pick up the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, about the provision for licensing children travelling abroad to perform. So many productions now operate both in the UK and abroad and, indeed, the tax rules for films encourage and support that, so we have to have a system which works whichever side of the channel they are operating on and wherever in the world they work.
It is obvious that an update of this legislation is long overdue, and it is a shame that the Government have not acted so far on the report from Sarah Thane. Before I finish, when I was reading this before, I picked up a point that I know is a nightmare for anybody dealing with this area. I am pretty confident, looking at the civil servants here, that matters of this nature are not reserved. Therefore, we face the possibility that the regulations that may be brought in here will not work in Scotland or Northern Ireland, although I suspect that they will work in Wales. With the burgeoning production activity now happening right across our United Kingdom, we need to be careful that we capture all aspects of that. Again, that is something that can be picked up if the work is taken on. This is an important amendment and something that we should support. I very much hope the Minister will be able to support these amendments.
Before I end, since this will be my last comment tonight, I place on the record my thanks to Hansard, the attendants and, indeed, the others at this end of the table who have been prepared to stay on an extra hour beyond what was agreed between the parties.