Minister snubs talks on child protection law problems for young performers

Published Tuesday 9 August 2005 at 13:35 by Alistair Smith

Minister Beverley Hughes has been accused of failing to honour her predecessor’s invitation to regional theatre representatives to discuss the problems the new child protection law has caused for the licensing of young performers.

Before the general election, the Institute of Entertainment and Arts Management was approached by the then minister for children Margaret Hodge, asking to meet to outline the obstacles created by the implementation of the Children Act 2004.

However, Hodge’s successor Beverley Hughes has redirected the IEAM to her deputy, Maria Eagle, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families. She in turn has informed the institute that she is too busy to meet with them and asked them to address their worries to civil servants in the department of education.

IEAM administrator Shirley Carpenter explained: “Before we held the seminar, they were very willing to meet and asked us to wait until after the election. But, when we wrote back to them we got the put-off and were told to contact officials instead. It isn’t the same and the general council [of the IEAM] has been put out that they couldn’t find time. It just looks like they want to avoid the problem.

“We have found that the biggest issue is the varying interpretations of the legislation. This is something the Minister for Children could help with. They could make the guidelines more clear. Nothing has changed [since discussions with Hodge] and more and more we are hearing that people are stopping working with children because it is too problematic. It is the children who will lose out.”

In April The Stage revealed fear of the new act has meant many local education authorities have made conditions tougher for theatre producers seeking child performer licences. As LEAs can impose their own additional rules, youngsters’ prospects of entering the business are determined increasingly by a postcode lottery. Those based in more hardline authority areas are effectively excluded, say critics.

A spokesperson for Maria Eagle denied the ministerial response was a snub to the IEAM, adding:

“We recognise this is an important issue for the industry. That is why senior officials from the department of education have been in contact and Maria Eagle’s office has made it clear that they are available to discuss this issue. However, at the same time, ministers have a lot of competing priorities which they have to juggle and in this case a meeting with senior officials was seen as the best way forward.”