The following information is provided by the British Board Of Film Classification

www.bbfc.co.uk

The '12A' cetificate for the cinema

Q What does the 'A' in '12A' stand for?
A  It stands for 'accompanied' and it also stands for 'advisory'.

Q Does the '12A' replace the '12' certificate?
A  Yes, for the cinema only.  There are no plans at present to change the '12' certificate for video.

Q What does the '12A' mean in practice?
A  Children under the age of 12 will be able to see a '12A' film at the cinema if they are accompanied by a

    person of 18 years or over.  The adult must watch the film with the child or children and not just pay for the

    ticket.

Q Why are you not insisting that it is a parent who accompanies the child?
A  We asked both the people who took part in the Norwich pilot and the national survey whether only a parent  

     should take a child into a '12A'.  The majority (64 per cent nationally) said that a parent was preferable, but

     almost as many (59 per cent) said that any responsible adult of 18 or over would be acceptable.  This

     clearly allows for aunts, uncles, older siblings, teachers or other parents to take children to see a '12A' film. 

     The staff in the cinemas are well able to judge whether the adult with the children is ‘responsible’ and can

     of course refuse entry to anyone if they are not satisfied.

Q But will you be giving any advice about accompaniment?
A   We are recommending that cinema staff use the same commonsense tests as they have always used

      when adults have accompanied younger children.  We are reminding them that they have a duty of care to

      all the public but particularly to their younger cinema-goers.  They should certainly report to the police any

      individual of whom they are suspicious.  Cinema licences include a requirement that there is an adequate

      number of staff, and many cinemas require that a member of staff be in each auditorium every 20 minutes

      or so to look out for any suspicious behaviour.  Aside from that, our advice is that cinema staff require that

      the 'responsible adult' be over 18, and has a family or professional relationship (e.g., a teacher) with at

      least one of the children accompanied, and that the adult should buy the tickets and accompany the under-

      12s throughout the screening.

Q Does this mean that very young children could see a '12A' film?
A   Only if an accompanying adult accepts responsibility.  The BBFC considers the content to be suitable for

     children of 12 and over.  We would not recommend taking very young children to see '12A' rated films, but

     parents or guardians must decide whether the film is suitable for their child or children.

Q So why don't you simply set a minimum age limit e.g. 8 or 10 years old?
A   This has not generally been found necessary in other countries which have used the '12A' system.  We

     would prefer to rely upon the good judgement of parents, supported by good consumer advice.  But we will

     monitor the '12A' closely during its first year or so and we would not rule out any modifications based upon

     national experience.

Q Why not a '12A' for video as well?
A   Because it would make no useful difference to the present situation for video.  The present video '12'

     means that you have to be 12 or above to rent or buy the video.

Q What will happen to old '12'-rated films that are still showing?
A   All '12'-rated cinema films will immediately become '12A'.  No doubt some of them will still have the old '12'

     certificate on the front and in their publicity; but they will be treated as a '12A'.

Q Why are you changing the '12' to a '12A'? Are you bowing to commercial pressure?
A   The initiative for the '12A' was entirely the Board's and was not asked for the industry.  The Board receives a

     steady stream of letters from parents of children who are under 12 asking why they cannot make the

     decision about whether their child should see a '12' rated film.  We know the development and maturity of

     children varies considerably.  The equivalent of a '12A' is the norm in most of Europe and North America.

Q How do you know the public are behind the decision?
A   The Board ran a pilot in Norwich for seven weeks at the end of 2001.  The results of the research, which

     involved polling before the pilot, focus groups and polling people coming out of the cinemas during the

     pilot, showed that people in Norwich would only agree to changing the '12' rating to an advisory rating

     provided children under 12 were accompanied by an adult and that consumer advice about the content of

     the film was available, not just in the cinemas, but in the cinema listings in the local newspapers.  The

     Board followed this up with a national survey in May 2002 of around 4000 people throughout the UK, with

     specific emphasis on parents.  The national survey produced similar results to the Norwich research with

     70 per cent agreeing that the category should become advisory but only with adult accompaniment and

     consumer advice in the local listings.

Q Does this mean that '12A' films will be 'softer' than the current '12' because young children

   will be able to see them?
A   No, the published Guidelines for '12' will remain unchanged.  This is why it is essential that parents have

     access to information about why a film has been made a '12A' before they go to the cinema.  Was it

     because of the violence (how strong was it?), because of bad language, because of some moderate

     graphic sex scenes, or for some other reason?

Q  Where will they get this information?
A   The cinema industry has promised to provide it in all its main publicity.  So a line of advice, explaining why

     the film is a '12A', will appear on posters, in TV advertisements, and alongside the billings in local

     newspapers.  The information will be generated by the BBFC every time it classifies a film.

Q Should we expect a '15A' and an '18A' soon?
A   No.  We have no plans at all for making these ratings advisory. Neither of these categories is suitable for

     young children, accompanied or otherwise.  At present, issues of potential harm to children are kept out of

     'U', 'PG' or '12'/'12A' rated films though they may be allowed in '15' and '18' rated films.  Examples are the

     glamorisation of easily accessible weapons like knives, or dangerously imitable behaviour like how to hang

     yourself, or drug abuse.  They may be allowed at '15' and '18' (if the context justifies them) and that is why

     '15' and '18' will remain mandatory for the foreseeable future.