Clause 7 - Co-operation to improve well-being
Children Bill [Lords]
8:55 am
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle, Labour)
With this it will be convenient to consider the following:
Amendment No. 221, in
clause 7, page 5, line 35, at end insert—
'(3A) In making arrangements under this section a children's services authority shall, where persons with parental responsibility of a child are separated, take all reasonable steps to facilitate the implementation of any court order relating to access or in the absence of such an order the child's access to each parent.'.
Amendment No. 222, in
clause 8, page 6, line 46, at end insert—
'(l) the judiciary and magistracy (subject to the provisions of section [Judicial responsibility for children's welfare]).'.
New clause 42—Presumption of equal parenting—
'(1) The Children Act 1989 (c.41) is amended as follows:
(2) After section 1(1) after ''the child's welfare shall be the court's paramount consideration'', add—
''(1A) In respect of subsection (1)(a) above the court shall, unless a contrary reason be shown, act on the presumption that a child's welfare is best served through residence with its parents and if its parents are not living together, through residence with one of them and through both of them being as fully and equally involved in his parenting as possible.''.'.
New clause 44—Judicial responsibility for child welfare—
'(1) In all proceedings affecting access to children, the courts shall have regard to the desirability of a child having appropriate access to parents, siblings and grandparents.
(2) Nothing in this section shall affect—
(a) a court's power to impose a custodial sentence where appropriate; or
(b) the Home Secretary's power to deport an alien.'.