Children and Adoption Bill 2nd Reading: "Children's safety must be paramount" - Brooke

6.00.00pm GMT Thu 2nd Mar 2006

Annette Brooke MP will be leading for the Liberal Democrats today in the 2nd Reading of the Children and Adoption Bill, which is intended to assist in the implementation of the Green Paper Parental Separation: Children's Needs and Parents' Responsibilities.

The Bill seeks to provide family courts with new powers to promote contact with children and enforce contact orders.

Annette Brooke MP will say:

"This Bill today is seeking to ensure that the best interests of the child are served. The focus throughout must be on the best outcomes for the child. It is all important that the principles of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child are upheld.

"I wholeheartedly support the presumption that the welfare of the child must be paramount, as set out in the 1989 Children Act, and throughout the Bill's passage will focus on the priorities of safety and mediation between parents. Early intervention in mediation must be emphasised."

"We must acknowledge that there continues to be great dissatisfaction with the way the legal process has handled child contact disputes. With this Bill, I hope that in future, parents will be much better supported to find agreed solutions that put their child or children first."

ENDS