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Family Justice

No, the original view—this is a binary choice. The reservations that the hon. Gentleman went on to express, including about the sensitivity of adoption proceedings, and the concerns raised by some children's representatives about having the media in court, show that this is a finely balanced judgment, but ultimately we have to say yes or no. He asked whether these were firm or final proposals, and answer is yes, they are. I hope to introduce measures that require rule changes, pressing on with this, in the spring, possibly in April. The changes in adoption require primary legislation—the Adoption and Children Act 2002 imposes a statutory bar on the attendance of the media or the public, and there is no current legislation available to make those changes—so we will have time to consult in more detail on that. The hon. Gentleman asked me some specific questions about disclosure by families to the media. We have to put the detail of the changes to the rules committee, and I am actively considering that issue. The key issue, in my experience as a constituency Member of Parliament, is the assurance that if information is disclosed further, the identity and privacy of the child and, by extension, the family, is still protected. However, I thoroughly agree with his view, which is ours, too, that the quality of family justice is not served by proceedings that, to all intents and purposes, are secret and removed from the view of the media. I take his point that there is a clear distinction between a child's best interests and the privacy, not of the child—no one is arguing about that—but of proceedings. We have not estimated the cost of implementing the changes because we believe the costs will be marginal. For example, in respect of youth courts, which have to operate exactly the same restrictions but with the courts in many cases allowing individual members of the public and others in, I have never had any representations that that is a costly process. Once there is a legislative opportunity, we will seek to rationalise the penalties and the regime. Meanwhile, a breach will be contempt of court, for which, in principle, imprisonment is the penalty. In respect of other proceedings in the youth courts and in Crown courts where juveniles and young people are being tried, and in respect of other reporting restrictions, the experience is that overwhelmingly the press respect restrictions.