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Family Perinatal Support and Adoption Bill (HC Bill 88)

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A

BILL

TO

Require the Secretary of State to provide appropriate perinatal support to any
family expecting a child who will be born on to the child protection register
and for whom an adoption plan has not been made at the moment the child is
entered on to the register; to require that a decision be made not later than one
year after the child’s birth as to whether or not such a child will be adopted;
and for connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Family perinatal support

The Secretary of State must, within three months of the passing of this Act,
make regulations—

(a) making perinatal talking therapies available to a person (“the carer”)
5who will be responsible for the care of an unborn child following his or
her birth, where that child will be born with a child protection plan,
with no plan made to take the child into local authority care;

(b) making provision that the carer is offered appropriate talking
therapies, to begin before the birth of the child, and

(c) 10making provision that a child protection review conference to reach a
decision about the ongoing care of the child be held no later than the
child’s six month of age and that this conference take into account
medical assessments of carer/infant attunement in respect of—

(i) the talking therapy received,

(ii) 15progress made, and

(iii) the extent to which the skills are used in relation to the infant.

2 Adoption

The Secretary of State must, within three months of the passing of this Act,
make regulations providing that if a child protection review conference
20determines that the carer has not made sufficient progress, the child should be
placed for adoption before its first birthday.

Family Perinatal Support and Adoption BillPage 2

3 Regulations

(1) Any power to make regulations under this Act is exercisable by statutory
instrument.

(2) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act is subject to
5annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

4 Interpretation

In this Act—

  • “perinatal talking therapies” means parent-infant psychotherapy,
    psychodynamic therapies, cognitive behavioural therapy and
    10counselling;

  • “carer/infant attunement” means the ability of a carer to react to an
    infant’s emotions attentively and the consequential ability of infants to
    recognize and regulate their own feelings.

5 Financial provisions

15There is to be paid out of money provided by Parliament—

(a) any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act by the Secretary of
State, and

(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act
out of money so provided.

6 20Short title, commencement and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the Family Perinatal Support and Adoption Act 2013.

(2) This Act comes into force at the end of the period of 2 months beginning with
the day on which it is passed.

(3) This Act extends to England and Wales.

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