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Removal of anomalies in relation to cohabitants
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'Part 4 of the Family Law Act 1996 is amended as follows.
(1) Leave out section 41
(2) For section 35(10) substitute—
| | "An order under this section may, in so far as it has continuing effect, be made for a specified period, until the occurence of a specified event or until further order". |
(3) For section 36(10) substitute—
| | "An order under this section may, in so far as it has continuing effect, be made for a specified period, until the occurence of a specified event or until further order". |
(4) For section 37(5) substitute—
| | "An order under this section may, in so far as it has continuing effect, be made for a specified period, until the occurence of a specified event or until further order".'. |
(5) For section 38(6) substitute—
| | "An order under this section may, in so far as it has continuing effect, be made for a specified period until the occurence of a specified event or until further order;".'. |
Amendments to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to extend the category of witnesses eligible for assistance on grounds of fear or distress about testifying
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr David Heath
Sandra Gidley
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'In section 17 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c. 23) (witnesses eligible for assistance on grounds of fear or distress about testifying) after subsection (4) insert—
"(4A) Where the complainant in respect of proceedings relating to any form of molestation, including violence, involving the complainant, a cohabitant, a relevant child or associated persons, is a witness in such proceedings, the witness is eligible for assistance in relation to those proceedings by virtue of this subsection unless the witness has informed the court of the witness' wish not to be so eligible by virtue of this subsection.
(4B) For the purposes of this subsection, 'cohabitant', 'relevant child' and 'asssociated persons' mean a person as defined by section 62 of the Family Law Act 1996 (c.27) (meaning of "cohabitants", "relevant child" and "associated person") as amended by sections 2 and 3 of this Act".'.
Definition of domestic violence
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Hilton Dawson
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
Before section 30 in Part 4 of the Family Law Act 1996 (c.27) (Family Homes and Domestic Violence) insert—
"30A Definition of domestic violence
(1) In this Act, and in any other family proceedings, 'domestic violence', in relation to any person, means violence against that person by any other person with whom that person is, or has been, in a domestic relationship.
(2) In this section, 'violence' means
| (c) | psychological or emotional abuse, including, but not limited to, |
| (iii) | damage to property; |
| (iv) | threats of physical abuse, sexual abuse or psychological abuse; |
| (v) | in relation to a child, abuse of the kind set out in subsection (3) of this section. |
(3) Without limiting subsection (2)(c) of this section, a person psychologically abuses a child if that person
| (a) | causes or allows the child to see or hear the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a person with whom the child has a domestic relationship; or |
| (b) | puts that child, or allows the child to be put, at real risk of seeing or hearing that abuse occurring; but the person who suffers that abuse is not regarded, for the purposes of this subsection, as having caused or allowed the child to see or hear the abuse, or, as the case may be, as having put the child, or allowed the child to be put, at risk of seeing or hearing the abuse. |
(4) Without limiting subsection (2) of this section;.
| (a) | a single act may amount to abuse for the purposes of that subsection; |
| (b) | a number of acts that form part of a pattern of behaviour may amount to abuse for that purpose, even though some or all of those acts, when viewed in isolation, may appear to be minor or trivial. |
(5) Behaviour may be psychological abuse for the purposes of subsection (2)(c) of this section which does not involve actual or threatened physical or sexual abuse.".'.
Recovery orders in cases involving allegations of domestic violence or potential risk to the child
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'After section 34 of the Family Law Act 1986 insert—
"34A The use of recovery orders in cases involving allegations of domestic violence or a potential risk to the child
(1) If an applicant claims that his partner has abducted a child of the family, the court may grant a recovery order if the applicant already has a residence order in his name.
(2) If there is no residence order in favour of either parent, the court may grant a recovery order. An order under subsection (2) will require both parties to attend court within 24 hours of the discovery of the child, or the first working day thereafter, in this instance, before returning the child to the applicant or giving the applicant any information as to the whereabouts of the child, the police must—
| (a) | check their records to see if either party has committed acts of violence; |
| (b) | check to see if either party is included on the register of domestic violence perpetrators; |
| (c) | having located the child without notifying the applicant of the child's whereabouts, make enquiries with regard to the child's welfare. |
(3) Following the award of an order under subsection (2)—
| (a) | If records show that the applicant has a history of violence or the police have concerns about the welfare of the child if the child is returned to the applicant, the police will— |
| (i) | not remove the child from the respondent |
| (ii) | and advise the respondent to seek legal representation |
| (iii) | notify the court of their action immediately, |
| (b) | If there is no record of violence and no reason to believe that the defendant or the child is at risk, the police will return the child to the applicant. |
(4) Ex parte residence or contact orders should only be made if there is evidence that a party is wilfully refusing to attend court".'.
Parental contact with children after separation in cases involving ill-treatment of the child or another person (No. 1)
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr Hilton Dawson
Mr David Heath
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
After section 8 in Part II of the Children Act 1989 insert—
"(8A) Allegations of ill-treatment made in section 8 proceedings
(1) Where it is alleged that a party to the proceedings has inflicted ill-treatment on the child or on another person, the Court shall, as soon as practicable, determine on the basis of the evidence presented to it by or on behalf of the parties to the proceedings, whether the allegation of ill-treatment is proved.
(2) Where the Court is satisfied that a party to the proceedings (in this section referred to as the abusive party) has inflicted ill-treatment on the child or on another person, the Court shall not
| (a) | make any order granting the abusive party residence of the child; or |
| (b) | make any order granting the abusive party contact (other than supervised contact) with that child, unless the child wants to see the abusive party and the Court is satisfied that the child will be safe while the abusive party has residence of or contact with the child. |
(3) Notwithstanding subsection 8A(i), where in any section 8 proceedings,
| (a) | the court is unable to determine on the basis of the evidence presented to it by or on behalf of the parties to the proceedings whether or not an allegation of ill-treatment is proved; but |
| (b) | the Court is satisfied that there is a risk of harm to the child, the Court may make any order under this Act that it considers necessary to protect the child.".'. |
Parental contact with children after separation in cases involving ill-treatment of the child or another person (No. 2)
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mrs Eleanor Laing
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Mr David Heath
Sandra Gidley
NC6
To move the following Clause:—
'After section 8 in Part II of the Children Act 1989 insert—
"When determining whether the child will be safe if contact or residence is granted to the abusive party, the Court shall, so far as is practicable, have regard to the following matters:
| (a) | the nature and severity of the ill-treatment; |
| (b) | how recently the ill-treatment occurred; |
| (c) | the frequency of the ill-treatment; |
| (d) | the risk of further ill-treatment occurring; |
| (e) | the physical, sexual or emotional harm inflicted on the child or harm suffered by the child as a result of seeing or hearing ill-treatment of another person; |
| (f) | whether the other party to the proceedings |
| (i) | considers that the child will be safe while the abusive party has residence of, or contact with, the child; and |
| (ii) | consents to the abusive party having residence of, or contact with, the child; |
| (g) | the wishes of the child, if the child is able to express them, and having regard to the age and maturity of the child; |
| (h) | any steps taken by the abusive party to prevent further ill-treatment from occurring; |
| (i) | any matters as the court considers relevant.".'. |
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