Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Countess of Mar (Crossbench). It was answered on Wednesday, 28 February 2007.

Courts: Family Cases

Question: My Lords, does the Minister appreciate the problems encountered by parents whose children are taken away from them? When they feel that there has been a gross miscarriage of justice, the gagging order applied by these courts means that they can speak only to their MP or their lawyer. I have spoken to many such parents here under parliamentary privilege. They cannot go to anybody but their lawyer, who they may feel to be inadequate, or their MP, who also may not be able to help, because of the gagging orders. Is there any way that these orders can be relaxed a little so that they can go to other people for good advice?

Answer: My Lords, that is an important issue. First, applications can be made to the judge. One of the things that came across in the consultation was that, for example, children involved in those processes trust the judge. There is a restriction on the use that can be made of such material because of the potential damage that can be done to a child. It is important that confidentiality is preserved in case, for example, the identity of an adopted child became known in its locality, together with the circumstances that led to its adoption; or, in case in a particular locality it became known that allegations made against the parents were in part proved and the children were still in that locality. The noble Countess will know how cross individual parents might feel, but the damage to the child would be immense if there was not a restriction on using the material. We have looked at the family procedure rules recently and made some changes. One can apply to the judges, but I am clear that confidentiality must be protected.

Secondary information