Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, regarding default contact arrangements, although we would prefer the amendment to provide for the court to define the arrangements rather than the Secretary of State. The amendment provides a practical solution to the principles of co-parenting, reasonable contact and parental responsibility that we on these Benches have been calling for since well before the election in May. As all sides of this House have recognised, it is vital that a child’s well-being is maintained by maximum contact with both parents during and after a separation where the safety of the child is not an issue. Keeping that contact link is vital. We feel the amendment will go a significant way to addressing our concerns and maintaining the flexibility that Her Majesty’s Government insist our amendments to date would preclude. As the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, explained, the amendment will allow the Secretary of State by regulations to establish a range of contact arrangements, to be known as the ““default contact arrangements””, appropriate for children of different age groups. We have continually pointed out that there is enough case law and experience within the family law system to draw up guidelines, or, in this case, arrangements regarding contact for different age groups. Am I doing something wrong? I would not be surprised if I was. These arrangements will provide a basis which parents themselves can alter, depending on the individual situation. Subsection (3) states that if a parent decides to apply for an order limiting or excluding contact of the child with the other parent,"““the court shall deal with any such application as quickly as reasonably practicable””." I take the opportunity once again to raise the issue of resources. Good resources, available contact centres and quickly implemented contact activities will aid the courts in processing each case as efficiently and effectively as possible.