Law of Unintended Consequences for Babysitters

Remember what I was saying a while back about Nu Labour being a poor legislator?

Last week it was the Baroness Scotland affair, where even the person drafting the law couldn't prevent herself falling foul of it (the very definition of an unworkable law in my book).

Now we have Ofsted going way off-mission and taking two women to court because they babysat for each other.

Now if the Childcare Act does apply (and I'm sure the letter of the law will apply: after all its been through the court once already and been proven), then hundreds of thousands of people across the country will be affected. Again, in my book the very essence of of unworkable law: if it makes an activity a significant majority of the population are engaged in unlawful, then it is bad law.

A minister has been quoted as saying he's investigating. I bet he bloody is, because this could have a disasterous effect on a hell of a lot of families.

Leaving the law as it stands isn't an option, as any old jobsworth or any malicious prosecutor could fire things up again. No, the law needs changing and changing quickly, in order to stop this idiotic nonsense from getting out of hand.

I think this will be one to keep an eye on.

If anything should, this case should promote the idea of a "Great Repeal Bill" to pull back most of this incompetantly drafted Nu Labour legislation.