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12.45 pm
Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield): The hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Mr. Ruane) has related to the House some horrific cases with which he has been intimately involved. I believe that we all listened with deep concern to what he said about his experiences and those of the families whom he is helping.
The Minister, in concluding a lengthy but detailed and helpful speech, quoted Mrs. Jo Williams, director of social services for Cheshire, who, quite by chance, is also chairman of the Association of Directors of Social Services, who said:
The hon. Member for Taunton (Jackie Ballard), who has told the House that, sadly, she cannot be here for the remainder of the debate for reasons that we well understand, said that the bringing up of a child was a difficult, demanding job--and, moreover, a full-time job. I make the plea, because it has not yet been made during this debate, for the Government, whether the present Government or a Government of my own party or of another, to recognise the role that a mother, particularly, undertakes in bringing up a child. That could be done through the tax system. We have never properly reflected the full-time job of a mother in bringing up a child. Admittedly, times have changed and fathers now play a greater role than they used to, but I still believe that the tax system should recognise the role of the mother for the highly responsible and important job that she undertakes.
I make a plea to the present Government, and to my own party in drawing up an election manifesto, as it will in the next 12 months, properly to reflect in the tax system--perhaps by way of an allowance--the role of a woman in bringing up a child, the role of a mother. We should acknowledge the inadequacy of the way in which that role has been recognised.
I shall endeavour to be brief. For many years I served on the Select Committee on Social Services and the Select Committee on Health and, before both those Committees, on the Social Services and Employment Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Expenditure. I knew Sir William Utting well. I endorse and actively promote the recommendations in his report, "People"--young people--"Like Us". I also endorse the recommendations of the Sir Ronald Waterhouse report, "Lost in Care", which has been the major source of all the matters discussed in today's debate.
I also wished to speak because an office of the firm of solicitors, Abney, Garsden and MacDonald, is located in the village of Poynton in my constituency. That firm is actively involved in the issues that the House is rightly debating. One of its partners is handling many of the cases that have resulted from child abuse.
Cases have occurred not just in north Wales. In an intervention at the beginning of the Minister's speech, I drew attention to the fact that, although north Wales has featured prominently because of the Waterhouse report, matters relating to the abuse of children have occurred in other counties, including my own county of Cheshire, and Staffordshire, which has been mentioned in the debate.
I have talked at length to the partner at Abney, Garsden and MacDonald about the experiences that he and his firm have had in dealing with such cases. I do not think that I am revealing a private conversation when I say that he told me that, for a period after his initial involvement, he was what I would describe as "traumatised" by the details of the horrors that had been revealed in the cases of child abuse. He has obviously got over that, but it clearly suggests that the House must do more about this issue. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Ms Shipley) for what she has done, but much more action is necessary.
When I was on the Social Services Committee, we held an inquiry into young people in care. During that inquiry, we took evidence from and met several young people who were involved with what was then known as the National Association of Young People in Care--NAYPIC. I greatly admired the courage of the young people whom we met and took evidence from. The representatives of young people in care told us that there were problems and, although many people in recent years have been against the existence of residential care, they also told us that there was a need for such care. As the right hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) and others have said, some young people believe that residential care provides them with a better quality and style of life than they would have received in their own homes.
Despite all the criticism that has been made of residential care homes for children and young people, we should not condemn them all. A number of them have clearly done an excellent job. Many young people who are doing well in society today spent part of their youth in residential homes.
I was in full-time business before I entered the House. I was involved in the construction industry when the midlands branch of the Contractors Mechanical Plant Engineers Association adopted the Pebble Mill children's home in Birmingham to give the children living there a better quality of life. We provided treats, entertainment and outings that they would not otherwise have had, so as to give them the best possible life. During the time of my involvement, I had every admiration for the house father and the house mother and many of the people who cared for the children. Many of the children were delightful and I was amazed that they were in local authority care because their parents were not able or did not want to look after them. That children's home provided a caring environment, and the house mother and house father did a wonderful job and had my full support. I therefore pay tribute to many of the people who spend their professional life looking after children in care.
I intervened a couple of times earlier on the subject of the children's rights commissioner. Although we need such a commissioner, his duties and responsibilities should mainly relate to children in care and, as I said in an intervention on the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths), to children on the at-risk register. The commissioner's overall responsibilities might be broader, although I am deeply concerned that he might usurp parents' normal and natural rights and responsibilities and have an undesirable effect. However, I fully understand the concern expressed by all hon. Members who have spoken.
I speak on behalf of my party, and I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House will understand that my party, like all others, takes the safety of children extremely seriously. What is more, my party is proud of the legislation that was enacted when it was in government. As the House will know, legislation was introduced in 1988 and 1991 to overcome the problem of children feeling too scared to give evidence in court. One solution introduced was the use of videos in court, which is now taken for granted. That was a desirable development which clearly enables children to be more open and to feel more relaxed when giving evidence in horrific cases such as those described to the House today.
The Conservative Government also introduced the Children Act 1989. I played a part in that as a member of the then Select Committee on Social Services, which undertook an inquiry into the Bill. I pay particular tribute to a colleague who is no longer in the House, Roger Sims--latterly Sir Roger Sims--for his tremendous contribution to that inquiry. The Select Committees make a major contribution to the developments that the House wants to make.
It is worth saying also that the Conservative Government introduced the Family Law Act 1996, which protected all those, including children, who were abused in their own home. It has been said, I think by the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd, that a great many child abuse cases occurred not in residential homes but in private homes, and that relations--and sadly, in some cases, even parents--were responsible for the abuse.
In 1997 the Sex Offenders Act was passed, and required certain sex offenders to notify the police of their names and addresses and any subsequent changes in those details. It was also designed to enable UK courts to prosecute British citizens or residents who commit certain sexual acts abroad. That legislation was long overdue, and I am delighted that it was passed.
This debate has been useful. With the exception of a few areas in which there is not total agreement, hon. Members are united on the need to seek the greater safety and protection of children.
I want to return briefly to the Children Act. The then Social Services Committee made a major contribution in one other area. We considered the way in which Scotland dealt with cases relating to children, and we learned a lot. We discovered that the way in which matters were conducted in Scotland was much less confrontational and more informal. The changes subsequently taken on board in this House as a result of the Scottish experience were extremely beneficial.
the age of innocence is past.
Despite everything that I have heard this morning, I am still one of those who believe that Parliament and rational and reasonable people, especially parents, should seek to restore that age of innocence to young people. It is a crying shame that people can say that no longer can children have eight, 10, 11 or 12 years of happy innocence, because for many, that may well prove to be the happiest time of their life. I make no apology for saying that I hope that this place, in legislation and in example, will restore that age of innocence to young boys and young girls.
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