Clause 18 - Parenting contracts in cases of exclusion from school or truancy
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
10:00 am
Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling, Labour)
The last part of the comments made by my hon. Friend the Minister and the contribution made by the hon. Member for Surrey Heath are crucial to the debate on trying to change the culture of some of the agencies that work in this field. Agencies need to understand that it does not help children if they talk only about supporting, consulting and working together. There comes a time when people must almost be forced to accept their responsibilities. In some cases, parents, whether there is one parent or two parents, have to be forced to accept their responsibilities. In some cases, it will be for the courts to determine where the responsibility lies.
The crucial point is that people fundamentally misunderstand how society works if they say that it is always in the children's interests to act in a soft way in respect of those who do not accept their responsibilities. It is not true to say that, because at the end of the day it often is in a child's interests to force the parents, through legislation if necessary, to accept their responsibilities. If we cannot effect that cultural change with some agencies in terms of adopting a soft-cop, hard-cop regime, some of the Committee's aspirations will be difficult to meet.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 18 ordered to stand part of the Bill.