Vote Bundle Text (960316-02)

Amendments proposed to the Children and Adoption Bill [lords] - continued	House of Commons

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Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

Clause 17, page 17, line 36, leave out 'Children and' and insert 'Child Contact and Intercountry'.

Maria Eagle

Clause 17, page 18, line 22, leave out subsection (9).

NEW CLAUSES

Extended family: welfare checklist

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

'After section 1(3)(g) of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) insert—

"(ga)

the desirability of contact between the child and his extended family in the absence of good reason to the contrary."'.

Parenting time plans

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) The Secretary of State must issue guidance for separating parents called parenting time plans ("the guidance").

(2) The guidance must outline the kind of contact orders the court is likely to impose in a range of circumstances should parents be unable to reach agreement regarding contact with their child.

(3) Before publishing guidance under subsection (1), the Secretary of State shall consult and seek approval from—

(a)	child development experts,

(b)	the family courts of England and Wales, and

(c)	any other person who appears to him to have an interest in the issue.

(4) The Secretary of State may not issue the guidance unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(5) The Secretary of State may, from time to time, revise the guidance.

(6) A revised version of the guidance shall not come into force until the Secretary of State lays it before Parliament.

(7) Where either House, before the end of the period of 40 days beginning with the day on which a revised version of the guidance is laid before it, by resolution disapproves that version—

(a)	the Secretary of State must, under subsection (5), make such further revisions to the guidance as appear to him to be required in the circumstances, and

(b)	before the end of the period of 40 days beginning with the date on which the resolution is made, lay a further revised version of the guidance before Parliament.

(8) In reckoning any period of 40 days for the purposes of subsection (7), no account is to be taken of any time during which—

(a)	Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, or

(b)	both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.

(9) The Secretary of State must arrange for any revised guidance under this section to be published in such a manner as he considers appropriate.'.

Pilot scheme on early intervention

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) The Lord Chancellor shall run a pilot scheme better to protect the post-divorce and post-separation family ties of children by providing for intervention before the court makes a contact order with respect to the child.

(2) The order shall designate courts to participate within the scheme.

(3) When a designated court is approached to make a contact order, the court must provide to the parties—

(a)	a set of guidelines, indicating in broad terms the levels of contact appropriate in the main categories of cases, in the absence of good reason to the contrary, accompanied by an enjoinder to maintain reasonable contact wherever possible,

(b)	the date of the first hearing,

(c)	an instruction to attend a meeting with a court-appointed mediator to develop a parenting plan which must include the amount of time each party will spend with the child,

(d)	an explanation that parties who do not file the agreed parenting plan must then—

(i)	attend a parent education meeting, and

(ii)	attend contact-focused dispute resolution and mediation

as decided by the court appointed mediator, before the parties may continue with any application for a contact order, and

(e)	a statement that litigation should be a last resort.

(4) Parties who do not wish to ask the court to make a contact order may also make use of the mediation and education facilities of the pilot scheme.

(5) The court shall take into account the willingness of each parent to participate in the scheme.

(6) The pilot scheme must start no later than six months after this Act receives Royal Assent and must run for no longer than two years.

(7) The Lord Chancellor must direct the President of the Family Division to report to him as to the operation of the pilot scheme.

(8) The report under subsection (6) must include an assessment of the extent to which the pilot scheme has achieved the objectives set out in this section.'.

Registration of private foster parents

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC4

To move the following Clause:—

'For section 69 of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) substitute—

Registration of private foster parents

(1) Every local authority shall keep a register of persons who act as private foster parents within their area.

(2) A local authority shall not register any person as a private foster parent unless it is satisfied that he is fit to act as a private foster parent.

(3) The Secretary of State shall by regulations make provision as to the considerations to which a local authority is to have regard in reaching a decision as to whether to register a person as a private foster parent.

(4) A local authority shall cancel the registration of any person under subsection (1) if—

(a)	it appears to them that the circumstances of the case are such that they would be justified in refusing to register that person as a private foster parent,

(b)	the case provided by that person for any privately fostered child is, in the opinion of the authority, inadequate, having regard to the needs of that child, or

(c)	the premises in which any privately fostered child is or would be accommodated are not suitable for that purpose.

(6) A person who contravenes subsection (5) shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (6) shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to both.

(8) A person aggrieved by the refusal of a local authority to register him as a private foster parent may appeal to the court in accordance with paragraph 8 of Schedule 8 to this Act.

(9) In dealing with private foster arrangements a local authority must have regard to the arrangements for safeguarding children."'.

Sanctions against false allegations of violence or significant harm

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

'After section 10 of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) insert—

Sanctions against false allegations of violence or significant harm

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations to require the court to act in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) Where during the course of contact proceedings—

(a)	a person makes an allegation of violence or significant harm against another person, and

(b)	the allegation is found by the court upon investigation to have been fabricated,

the court must have regard to this finding when considering any representations by either person about contact arrangements with a child and may treat it as an aggravating factor when considering whether to make an order under sections 11J to 11N."'.

Compensatory contact

Tim Loughton
Mrs Maria Miller
Mr Stewart Jackson
Jeremy Wright
Mr David Evennett

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

'After section 11P of the Children Act 1989 insert—

Compensatory contact

(1) This section applies if a contact order with respect to a child has been made.

(2) If the court is satisfied that—

(a)	an individual has failed to comply with the contact order, and

(b)	a person falling within subsection (6) has been deprived of contact time by reason of the breach,

it may make an order granting additional contact time between the person and the child concerned with a view to mitigating the effect of the breach.

(3) The court may not make an order under subsection (2) if it is satisfied that the individual in breach had a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with the contact order.

(4) The burden of proof as to the matter mentioned in subsection (3) lies on the individual claiming to have had a reasonable excuse.

(5) An order under subsection (2) may be made only on an application by the person who claims to have been deprived of contact time.

(6) A person falls within this subsection if he is—

(a)	the person who is, for the purposes of the contact order, the person with whom the child concerned lives or is to live,

(b)	the person whose contact with the child concerned is provided for in the contact order,

(c)	an individual subject to a condition under section 11(7)(b) or a contact activity condition imposed by the contact order, or

(d)	the child concerned.

(8) The court may grant leave to the child concerned only if it is satisfied that he has sufficient understanding to make the proposed application.

(9) Subsection (2) has effect subject to the restrictions in section 11S.

(10) Proceedings in which any question of making an order under subsection (2) arises are to be regarded for the purposes of section 11(1) and (2) as proceedings in which a question arises with respect to a section 8 order.

(11) In exercising its powers under this section, a court must treat as paramount the interests of the child concerned."'.