Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Lab)

My Lords, Amendment 201 is in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay. I thank him for agreeing to put his name to it—I am delighted, and I look forward to his speech. The amendment’s purpose is to remove what is, in effect, an unintended consequence of a piece of outdated legislation on the training, education and skills development for a group of young volunteers, particularly young female volunteers, on heritage railways. The Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act 1920 was passed in a very different era, some 33 years before the first preserved railway started operation using volunteers. It makes it unlawful to employ young people under 16 on railways and—by an extension through later legislation—that work now includes unpaid work by volunteers. No prosecution has ever been brought under Section 1 of the 1920 Act, and the provision languished unknown on the statute book for many years until it was brought to light in 2015. The Heritage Railway Association—I declare an interest as its president—was so concerned at the implications that it sought counsel’s opinion, which confirmed that the 1920 Act remained in force and that it was unlawful to allow volunteers under 16 to undertake work on a heritage railway. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail held an inquiry into the subject and published a report with recommendations in July 2018. On 15 July 2022, I introduced a Private Member’s Bill that sought to repeal the relevant sections of the 1920 Act. My Bill passed all its stages through your Lordships’ House unamended and received widespread support across the Chamber. Disappointingly, however, the Bill made no progress in the Commons. Subsequent meetings with, among others, the Health and Safety Executive and the Office of Rail and Road produced some helpful assurances—namely, that any prosecutions would rely not on this outdated Act but on more recent legislation, particularly the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and the safety management regulations produced following the Railways Act 1993. Officials were unwilling to repeal the relevant sections of the 1920 Act, partly because, in their view, it was unnecessary, and partly because it might have unforeseen implications on other activities, although those were never specified. To address this point, my Amendment 201 seeks to disapply the relevant sections of the 1920 Act to heritage railways and tramways, rather than to repeal the whole section. Although they were helpful, the HSE and ORR views do not solve the basic problem if the 1920 Act remains on the statute book. That is because, even if a prosecution may not be brought by official bodies, it could be brought by a local authority or by a relative of a young person, regardless of the assurances given. Heritage railway managers, not surprisingly, do not wish to break the law even if it is moribund and other safeguards exist.