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Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): The hon. Gentleman should not tout for business in that way. He was doing fine.
Mr. Brazier: I am sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The hon. Gentleman tried to intervene earlier.
I thank all the organisations that sent messages of support besides the many that I have already listed. They include Business in the Community, the National Council for School Sport, the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, the Youth Hostels Association, the Royal Yachting Association, the Air Cadet movement and some farming organisations. The words of Stephen Paddock of Youthsport struck home. He said:
- "As a sports training project officer for volunteers across London, Middlesex and Surrey we have been acutely aware of the growing trend towards litigation resulting from the risk inherent in sporting activities against volunteers and the potentially negative impact this trend will cause for long-term sustainability of people volunteering across all areas of sport and physical recreation in the UK
. . . we have trained 2,000 plus volunteers in numerous sports to achieve national governing body awards, which have then been used to offer safe and informed sport provision in youth clubs to approximately 90,000 young people. Thus if we consider even a decrease in volunteering of one per cent related to the threat of litigation this could mean 900 young people not being offered the opportunity to participate in sport in London alone."
There is an element of risk in all things, but it is that risk that makes things worth doing. It provides a vital sense of achievement, self-belief and self-worth to the participant. If we wish to roll back the tide of obesity and the wider problems of isolation and loneliness in our communities, we need more activities and adventure for people, and not only for young people. For this we need volunteers. I ask the House to give the Bill a Second Reading.
10.1 am
Mr. Frank Dobson (Holborn and St. Pancras) (Lab): I welcome the Bill, which was introduced by the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier). I thank him for his favourable reference to the work I was doing for the Government.
It is not only what might be described as adventurous activities that are being inhibited by the growth of the blame culture. There are problems for those who run playgrounds that have the traditional slide, roundabout or swings. Indeed, roundabouts have just about disappeared already.
I was asked to conduct a review of the country's play facilities with a view to advising the New Opportunities Fund on its priorities for investing the £200 million that the Government promised to improve play facilities. Consultation took place in every part of the country, and the devolved Administrations conducted reviews in Wales and Scotland. The Northern Ireland Office carried out its own review. During every visit, we listened to people who, day in and day out, try to provide play facilities for children. It became clear that the growth of the blame culture was making life extremely difficult for them.
The blame culture is an American import—one of many that are not very welcome. Many American imports are good ideas, but the blame culture is not one of them. We seem to have inherited a tribe of ambulance-chasing lawyers, mimicking people who have made fortunes in the United States. As a result, those who work for local authorities or voluntary organisations are increasingly concerned about the threat of litigation and the consequent rise in the cost of insuring their playground.
There is increasing focus on trying to eliminate the possibility of even the most minor accidents and to make things safer and safer. Play facilities and play equipment that offer no physical or mental challenge to children contribute little to their physical and mental development, but that is what is happening. The worst crime in the eyes of children is to be confronted with something that is boring, but play equipment is becoming increasingly boring. If children become bored with it, they will not put up with being bored. Instead, they will seek excitement elsewhere.
Few children are injured in a playground, hardly any have been attacked by a child molester in a playground and none has been run over by a car in a playground. However, if they leave the playground because it is boring, and they seek their excitement on the roads, on dodgy bits of land or, if they are in an area where two or three factories have closed down, they go into abandoned premises, which are exciting, they will put themselves in danger, and it will be the litigation culture that puts them in danger.
That will certainly happen when things become boring—and even more certainly will it happen if a playground is closed or if the remaining pieces of equipment are chained through fear of litigation. As the hon. Member for Canterbury said, play cannot be made risk free. Learning to judge risks and balance risks, and try it on a bit, are parts of the learning process and of the value of play.
I grew up in the country, where one of the risky things was climbing trees. As I am a coward, I used to climb up only two or three branches, whereas some of my mates used to climb another 10 or 12 branches. When one of them fell and dislocated his shoulder it was a good laugh really, except for him. That is part of growing up and we must accept it. Since the beginning of humanity children have survived bumps and scrapes. Children have not changed; society has changed, and in this respect it is changing for the worse. It is hindering children's play and making life more difficult and more expensive for public and voluntary organisations that are trying to provide for them.
It is my strongly held view that Parliament needs to give special protection to play organisations and to help them with their insurance problems. I speak from some direct experience, because when one of my sons, who is now in his 30s, was about four years old he climbed up a slide rather than up the steps. He fell off the top, hit the asphalt at the bottom and fractured his skull. It did not seem to do him much harm, even at the time. I remember going to see him in the children's part of the hospital, where there was a huge rocking horse. Within about 12 hours of the incident he, with bandages round his head, was rocking backwards and forwards on this giant rocking horse.
We did not think of suing the people who provided the slide. We thought that it was rather stupid of our son, even at the age of four, to do what he did. Parents must recognise that they have some responsibility for the way in which they bring up their children. One of my greatest prides and joys is that for about the past 20 years I have chaired the independent charity that runs the Coram's Fields children's playground in my constituency. On a hot summer holiday day, more than 1,500 children use the playground. There has been a massive increase in our insurance premiums recently, although to the best of my knowledge we have not made any claims. Over a long period some of the more traditional equipment has gradually been abandoned, withdrawn and replaced because outside people told us that it was inherently dangerous, and the insurers were becoming increasingly bothered about it. Some of the equipment looks spectacularly dangerous to the outsider, but according to our records few children have been injured on it; nevertheless, it has gradually been removed.
The Bill attempts to address at least part of the problem that I have described. It may have certain shortcomings, but, as the hon. Member for Canterbury says, that is in the nature of private Members' Bills. I hope that the Government support it and do not just offer every assistance short of actual help. If they cannot accept it, the problem will not go away and will continue to build up. Everyone expresses concern about children's health and the growth of obesity—looking at my shape, I always feel slightly inhibited when I discuss obesity in others—but the growth of the blame culture,
litigation and insurance costs is plain contrary to the public interest, public health and the health of our children.On safety, there have been many surveys of what children want. Children always say that they want a safe place to play. However, when they are asked to identify the things that they want to be safe from, they mention traffic, bullying and drug pushers. None of them says, "I am frightened of having an accident on a bit of play equipment." Children are not frightened of play equipment; the fear starts in adult society. Whatever the Government's attitude may be to the technical advantages or shortcomings of the Bill, the problem inhibits many decent people in both the public and voluntary sectors from making the best provision for children's play. We have a duty in this place to do something about it, because only we can change the law, and the law clearly needs to be changed.
10.12 am
Mr. John Burnett (Torridge and West Devon) (LD): At this stage, I must declare that I am a lawyer—an admission that is not guaranteed to win friends and influence people. In mitigation, I point out that I specialise in tax and commercial matters and do not practise at the moment.
I am delighted to welcome the Bill and to be one of its sponsors: anything that reduces the threat of frivolous and vexatious litigation is welcome. I want to pay tribute to the millions of people up and down the country who give of that most valuable commodity, their time, by volunteering. It is crucial that we encourage volunteering in our constituencies, and as Members of Parliament we are hugely indebted to the thousands of constituents who volunteer each week to support their communities and local organisations.
Unfortunately, over recent years volunteers have faced serious problems, particularly the threat of litigation. The right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) and the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) both touched on bureaucracy, which is a problem, but the threat of litigation is the real issue. I am delighted that the hon. Member for Canterbury says that although he welcomes the opportunity to negotiate over the Bill, the certificate of inherent risk is not for negotiation, and he is absolutely right to make that point.
Litigation makes it more and more difficult for volunteers to offer training and challenges, especially to young people who themselves volunteer for adventurous and challenging pursuits. Trainers and educators should achieve high standards and qualifications, but, as has been said frequently today, risk cannot be eliminated. If one does not allow the young in particular to take risks and rise to challenges through socially acceptable activities such as adventure training, many will soon turn to socially unacceptable activities.
A number of recent court cases have highlighted the unreasonable extent of the litigation to which volunteers may be exposed, and at the same time voluntary organisations complain about red tape, which raises costs and imposes time burdens on their organisations.
The hon. Member for Canterbury says that most, if not all, of the cases that he has come across occurred post-1997. That point is not political, but it is worth making, and I shall advert to it later in my speech.
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