Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

The motion in my name to oppose the clause stand part is, in part, due to our stance on the Bill. As my noble friend Lord Howe has explained, with the wrong presumption underpinning the current family law system, there is little the Bill will do but reinforce the problems that already exist. However, while we are calling for, and remain committed to, a radical reform in family law, we do not want to miss the opportunity to scrutinise the proposals that the Government are making and enable the Minister to explain in more detail the intentions behind the clause. We have already had a considerable debate on the monitoring of contact. The Joint Committee highlighted that the Green Paper Parental Separation acknowledged that to play a more active problem-solving role CAFCASS would have to change the way it operates. For that to be effective, the judiciary thought that the level of funding is crucial. In reply to an earlier question, the Minister said that this would be looked at in the spending review. Can he explain if the Government still envisage CAFCASS taking on this role, or will they consider independent operators, or perhaps a combination of both? Does the Minister feel that problem-solving and mediation should be carried out by the same individuals who write the court reports, or should confidentiality be linked to mediation? Will he explain on what basis the Government chose a period that may not exceed 12 months in subsection (5)? Picking up on the views of the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, what work has been done to see whether there are any detrimental effects of monitoring and how intrusive it will be in the life of the child and the other family members? I share the noble Baroness’s view that the state has to be extremely careful not to overstep the fine line of intruding in family life. What criteria will the courts use to decide if they should call for monitoring? Will it be accepted in every case? I should appreciate it if the Minister could take a little time to go through these basic points.