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Written Ministerial Statements
Wednesday 2 February 2005
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill
The Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Ruth Kelly): Following the publication of our consultation response "Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities: Next Steps" on 18 January, I am pleased to say that the draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill is today being presented to Parliament.
This Bill takes forward the commitment we made in the Green Paper "Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities" to provide the courts with more flexible powers to facilitate contact and enforce contact orders.
At present, contact orders can be enforced only through contempt of court proceedings leading to fine or imprisonment. Courts have quite rightly been reluctant to use these measures because of the potential negative impact on the children involved. That is why they need more flexible, more realistic powers, of the sort that this Bill will provide. It will allow the courts, at any stage, to:
Refer parents to resources including information meetings, meetings with a counsellor, orparenting programmes/classes designed to deal with contact disputes;
And where an order has been breached, the courts will also be able to:
Award financial compensation from one parent to another where the actions of one inbreaching a contact order have caused real financial loss to the other.
In addition, the Bill will provide more clarity in the law about the mechanism by which inter-country adoptions from individual countries may be suspended where there are concerns about child welfare.
I believe that this draft Bill, alongside the wider programme of reform set out in our Green Paper and the response document published on 18 January, will make a real difference to the family justice system in this country, and help provide better outcomes for children and families faced with the difficulties of parental separation.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
British Embassy (Kinshasa)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Chris Mullin):
In light of continuing instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the fragile security situation in Kinshasa, the Government have authorised
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the deployment of armed guards to our British Embassy in Kinshasa in order to safeguard embassy staff and ensure the mission can continue to operate.
The Government take seriously their obligations to contribute to peace and security in the DRC. We have a development programme for the DRC worth £34 million for the financial year 2004–05. Upgrading the security of our embassy will enable staff to continue to contribute to the peace process in the DRC. The DRC Government have been informed of our intention and is content with the arrangements we propose to protect our staff.
A UN arms embargo, targeting rebel groups operating in the east of the country, has been in place on the DRC since 28 July 2003. An EU embargo has been in place on the country since 7 April 1993. We fully support these measures and have informed the UN DRC Sanctions Committee and EU partners of the deployment.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Criminal Records Bureau
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Paul Goggins): The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) proposes to introduce measures to reduce the number of organisations currently registered with the CRB, through the setting of an annual threshold for the submission of disclosure applications by registered bodies. At present there are some 13,000 organisations registered with the CRB of which just 20 per cent. process 80 per cent. of all disclosure applications.
Setting an annual threshold will be a key part of the CRB's strategy to enhance the efficiency of, and improve standards within, the registered body network. Those organisations that remain registered will be better equipped to carry out their responsibilities under the CRB code of practice, receiving enhanced support and assistance from the CRB in carrying out their obligations. We shall consult widely with registered bodies and other stakeholders prior to the change.
The CRB and its major stakeholders recognise that public safety and the integrity of the disclosure service relies upon the widespread adoption of robust internal processes by registered bodies, particularly in terms of properly verifying the identity of disclosure applicants, ensuring that eligibility criterion are met, and forms are completed correctly.
The current assurance and compliance regime has highlighted that a significant number of registered bodies do not, for one reason or another, comply with all of the CRB's key guidelines or the CRB code of practice. A more compact registered body network, working in greater partnership with the CRB and composed of high-volume users would allow the CRB to focus its resources more effectively to improve compliance and support the evolving role of registered bodies.
The CRB remains committed to providing appropriate means of access for those organisations that wish to continue to use the disclosure service, and will work with in partnership with low-volume users to
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find alternative arrangements that best suits their requirements; keeping cost and bureaucracy to a minimum.
The introduction of such a threshold will be subject to a formal consultation process followed by the laying of regulations under sections 120AA and 120ZA Police Act 1997.
PRIME MINISTER
Downing Street Engagements
The Prime Minister (Mr. Tony Blair): I have today placed in the Library of the House a list of functions hosted by Mrs. Blair in Downing Street between November 1998 and January 2005.
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