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Clause 7
Residence, contact and other orders with respect to children
Amendment made : No. 39, in page 6, line 17, leave out issue' and insert question'.-- [The Solicitor-General.]
Clause 8
Restrictions on making section 7 orders
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 286, in page 7, line 12, at end insert--
(5A) No court shall make any section 7 order which is to have effect for a period which will end after the child has reached the age of sixteen unless it is satisfied that the circumstances of the case are exceptional.'.
Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 147.
The Solicitor-General : These amendments provide that section 7 orders should not be made in relation to children over the age of 16 except in exceptional circumstances. This is obviously sensible. Amendment No. 147 simply corrects a slip. I commend the amendments to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 9
Power of court to make section 7 orders
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 287, in page 8, line 8, at end insert--
(5A) A person who would not otherwise be entitled (under the previous provisions of this section) to apply for the variation or discharge of a section 7 order shall be entitled to do so if-- (
(a) the order was made on his application ; or
(b) in the case of a contact order, he is named in the order.'. This concerns the application for variations for section 7 orders. I commend it to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
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Clause 10
General principles and supplementary provisions
Amendments made : No. 40, in page 8, line 30, leave out subsection (1).
No. 41, in page 8, line 36, leave out such a question' and insert any question of making a section 7 order, or any other qustion with respect to such an order,'.-- [The Solicitor General.]
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 288, in page 9, line 24, leave out from made' to end of line 26 and insert-- (ii) who is a parent of the child concerned ;
(iii) who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him ; or
(iv) with whom the child is living,'.
This amendment and the two in the next group extend the range of people obliged to comply with the conditions under section 7 orders to unmarried fathers and to anyone with whom the child is living. They fall well within the context of what we discussed in Committee, and I commend them to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 11
Residence orders and parental responsibility
Amendments made : No. 289, in page 9, line 38, leave out if he would not otherwise'.
No. 290, in page 9, line 38, leave out have that
responsibility'.-- [The Solicitor-General.]
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 42, in page 9 line 44, leave out
or section 18 of the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978'.
Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 43, 76 and 77.
The Solicitor-General : These amendments simply remove references to the Adoption (Scotland) Act 1878. It was thought more appropriate to deal with it elsewhere. I commend them to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment made : No. 43, in page 9, line 46 leave out
or section 49 of the Act of 1978'.-- [The Solicitor-General.]
Clause 13
Orders for financial relief with respect to children
Amendment made : No. 291, in page 10, line 23, at end insert-- (2) The powers of a magistrates' court under section 60 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 to revoke, revive or vary an order for the periodical payment of money shall not apply in relation to an order made under Schedule 1.'.-- [The Solicitor-General.]
Clause 14
Family assistance orders
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 292, in page 11, line 13, at end insert--
(7) A family assistance order shall not be made so as to require a local authority to make an officer of theirs available unless-- (
(a) the authority agree ; or
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(b) the child concerned lives or will live within their area. (8) Where a family assistance order requires a probation officer to be made available, the officer shall be selected in accordance with arrangements made by the probation committee for the area in which the child lives or will live.(9) If the selected probation officer is unable to carry out his duties, or dies, another probation officer shall be selected in the same manner.'.
This amendment deals with the selection of a local authority or probation official to befriend the person named in the family assistance order. I commend the amendment to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Schedule 1
Financial Provision for Children
The Solicitor-General : I beg to move amendment No. 168, in page 82, line 3, leave out
High Court, a county court or a magistrates'.
Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 365, 404 to 406, 318, 319, 169, 170, 366 and 367.
The Solicitor-General : These are drafting and tidying-up amendments consequential on others. I commend them to the House. Amendment agreed to.
Amendments made : No. 365, in page 83, line 8, leave out the parents of the child'
and insert--
(a) any parent making or securing the payments ; and (
(b) any parent to whom the payments are made or secured,'. No. 404, in page 83, line 26, leave out or 2'.
No. 405, in page 83, line 34, at end insert--
(2A) Where the court makes an order under paragraph 1 against a person who is not the father of the child, it shall record in the order that the order is made on the basis that the person against whom the order is made is not the child's father.'
No. 406, in page 83, leave out line 36 and insert--
(a
(in relation to a decision whether to exercise its powers under paragraph 1, any parent of the child ;)
(aa
(in relation to a decision whether to exercise its powers under paragraph 2, the mother and father of the child ;'.
No. 318, in page 84, line 2, leave out £500' and insert £1,000'.
No. 319, in page 85, line 9, leave out or 2'.
No. 169, in page 86, line 32, leave out
High Court, a county court or a magistrates'.
No. 170, in page 88, line 4, leave out (4)' and insert (3)'. No. 366, in page 89, line 5, leave out and ;' and insert (2) In this Schedule except paragraphs 2 and 15.
No. 367, in page 89, line 7, at end insert
; and for this purpose any reference to either parent or both parents shall be construed as references to any parent of his and to all of his parents'. -- [The Solicitor-General.]
Clause 47
Provision of community homesby local authorities
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 457, in page 45, line 27, leave out subsection (6).
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Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 122, 459 and 164.
Mr. Mellor : These amendments tighten up the definitions of "voluntary home" and "voluntary organisation". I commend them to the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 53
Registration and regulation of voluntary homes
Amendments made : No. 122, in page 50, line 20, leave out in the case of a home or other institution which is supported wholly or partly by endowments'.
No. 459, in page 50, line 22, at end insert--
(cc) any community home ;'.-- [The Solicitor-General.]
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 460, in page 50, line 23, leave out from institution' to ; or' in line 24 and insert provided, equipped and maintained by the Secretary of State'.
Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 458, 466, 469, 468, 140 and 141.
Mr. Mellor : These are purely drafting amendments.
Amendment agreed to.
Schedule 5
Registered Children's Homes
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 370, in page 113, line 1, leave out
require the approval of the Secretary of State for the provision and'
and insert prohibit the'.
Mr. Speaker : With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 371 to 373.
Mr. Mellor : These are substantive amendments, so I should say a word or two about them. They make an important but, I hope in the light of the debates that we had in Committee, a welcome change to the Secretary of State's regulatory power in connection with voluntary and registered children's homes. In both schedule 5 and schedule 6, the Bill makes provision for the Secretary of State by regulation to give his approval to the provision and use of accommodation for the purpose of restricting liberty in such homes. Amendments were tabled in Committee designed to remove these powers and to replace them with the power to prohibit the provision of secure accommodation in voluntary and registered children's homes completely. At that time I explained that although the Secretary of State had no current intention to give his approval to the provision of secure accommodation in such homes, we thought it right to provide some flexibility in the arrangements should the need for such future provision become apparent.
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I undertook to consider the matter further. Having carefully considered the points made in Committee, I have concluded that the Bill should be amended and that the Secretary of State's power to approve the provision of
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secure accommodation in registered and voluntary homes should be replaced by a regulation-making power to prohibit the use of such accommodation.Amendments Nos. 370 and 371 make the necessary changes in so far as they affect voluntary homes, and amendments Nos. 372 and 373 make comparable changes affecting registered children's homes. I think that the changes will be welcomed in the House.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment made : No. 371, in page 113, line 3, leave out from homes' to end of line 6.-- [Mr. Mellor.]
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 199, in page 113, line 12, after on' insert or in charge of'.
Mr. Speaker : With this we shall discuss Government amendments Nos. 411, 205 and 206.
Mr. Mellor : These amendments amend the powers to make regulations in respect of voluntary and registered children's homes. I do not believe that they are controversial.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment made : No. 411, in page 113, line 18, at end insert-- Disqualification 7A. The Secretary of State may by regulation make provision with respect to the disqualification of persons in relation to voluntary homes of a kind similar to that made in relation to children's homes by section 58.'.-- [Mr. Mellor.]
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 201, in page 113, leave out lines 19 to 27.
Mr. Speaker : With this we may discuss Government new clause 15.
Mr. Mellor : This is a substantive amendment and a substantial new clause. Their effect would be to clarify the powers of voluntary organisations to provide accommodation for children, mainly by bringing the powers together in one place.
New clause 15 sets out the powers of voluntary organisations to provide accommodation by placing the child with a family, a relative or others, in a home--for example, a voluntary or registered children's home--or by making other arrangements. The provisions are equivalent to those in clause 20 that deal with the placement of children by local authorities.
I hope that by bringing the powers together in one place, the effect of the new clause will be helpful to practitioners in what is otherwise a complex area.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 54
Duties of Voluntary Organisations
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 123, in page 51, line 12, at end insert "and linguistic'.
Mr. Speaker : With this we may discuss Government amendments Nos. 129, 54, 407, 75 and 131.
Mr. Mellor : This formidable list of amendments deals with the welfare responsibilities of the local authority, voluntary organisation or person running a children's home who is looking after a child. They include a requirement to give due consideration to the religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural background of the child. An example of that can be found in clause 19(5)(c).
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Hon. Members who sat through the Committee stage will be aware that the Commission for Racial Equality supported amendments that would add a reference to the child's language. I agreed in Committee that that point should be met and that is the intention of Government amendments Nos. 123, 129, 54 and 131. The child's linguistic background is quite likely to have a bearing on his development and on how he should be cared for, and I am only too happy to put that point into the Bill. I am sure that it will be welcome news to the House.Amendment No. 75 is purely a drafting amendment, changing a reference to religious creed to "religious persuasion". The word "persuasion" is generally used in the Bill ; "creed" must have slipped in through an oversight.--
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 55
Duties of local authorities
Mr. Mellor : I beg to move amendment No. 124, in page 51, line 23, at end insert--
(2A) The Secretary of State may make regulations--
(a) requiring every child who is accommodated within a local authority's area, by or on behalf of a voluntary organisation, to be visited by an officer of the authority--
(i) in prescribed circumstances ; and
(ii) on specified occasions or within specified periods ; and (
(b) imposing requirements which must be met by any local authority, or officer of a local authority, carrying out functions under this section.'.
The intention of the amendment is to enable the Secretary of State to regulate the exercise by local authorities of their general duty in clause 55 to visit children in their area who are accommodated by or on behalf of voluntary organisations.
Amendment agreed to.
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