Clause 1
Compensation Bill [Lords]
9:45 am
John Mann (PPS (Rt Hon Richard Caborn, Minister of State), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Bassetlaw, Labour)
If I may follow through the logic, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will want to intervene then.
A culture is growing in this country of what one might call the adrenalin junkie, whereby outdoor pursuits are taken to the limit. I chair the parliamentary mountaineering club. In some sports, the concept of “limit” is clearly defined, but outdoor pursuits are generally different. I recall a particularly horrific case involving schoolchildren from, I believe, Leeds—certainly from west Yorkshire. They were river running under adult supervision. I do not know the precise details, but I do know from my experience that what tends to happen is that the adult organiser, who may be an adrenalin junkie themselves, pushes the boundaries of outdoor activities, and moves beyond some genteel walking, caving, climbing, abseiling and canoeing.
Such a culture has begun to build up. It has been reined in a little, but one could find oneself on a course in the Lake district going down rivers, going down some fairly high mountains and walking down reasonably tricky footpaths. On Helvellyn, people were attempting to parachute down becks.
I hope that the Minister will give some thought to this critical point, particularly in respect of young people: these were adult-initiated pursuits. The child was going on an adventure holiday and in reality had no say over which combination of pursuits they participated in, and the parent at home would probably have had no idea whatever about the activities. They may have had a general picture, but they may not have even heard of some of the more adrenalin-fixated pursuits that have started to creep in. That kind of differentiation is important in this context, as the adult is making the decisions, in some cases irrationally.