The Video Recordings Bill 2009 has been published. After it was discovered in August that the Video Recordings Act 1984 was no longer enforceable, the Government put in place plans to rectify the situation. The Bill was notified to the European Commission on September 10th and the three month notification period expired on 11th December. Subject to approval, the notified provisions can now be brought back into law.
Creative Industries Minister Siôn Simon said: “The purpose of the Bill is simply to repeal and revive the existing provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984 in order to make the criminal offences in the 1984 Act enforceable.”
According to trade body AITA (Adult Industry Trade Association) the Video Recordings Bill has now passed to the House of Lords, where it will likely pass through unhindered. This will mean the revised Video Recordings Act will be enforceable before the end of January 2010, when it will once again be an offence to supply R18 DVDs through any medium other than a licensed sex shop in the UK.
