Part of Adoption and Children Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 12:30 pm on 11 December 2001.
Jacqui Smith
Minister of State, Department of Health, Minister of State (Department of Health)
12:30,
11 December 2001
The hon. Member for North Dorset has probed long and hard this morning, and he has finally hit the jackpot. Clause 87 allows for the recognition of a decision made by an authority in a country that has ratified the 1993 Hague convention or in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or any colony where it has the power to decide that an adoption order should be revoked or annulled. If an authority in one of the specified countries decides that a convention adoption should be either annulled or confirmed, that decision will have effect in England and Wales also. The hon. Gentleman's Amendment seeks to replace the word ''colony'' with the phrase ''British Overseas
Territory''. He is right; the British Overseas Territories Bill is going through Parliament. We believe that the clause should be amended to take account of the terms used in that Bill. We shall consider what drafting change will be most appropriate and will table an amendment on Report.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
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