Draft Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2022
(2 years, 9 months ago)
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The Chair
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Tom Pursglove)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2022.
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. The draft statutory instrument before us today makes amendments consequential on the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, ahead of its planned commencement on 6 April this year. These amendments update the language in secondary legislation, consequential on the changes to terminology made by the Act. They also introduce a new jurisdiction ground for joint applications consequential on the Act, making joint applications possible for the first time.
The amendments in paragraphs 1, 2 and 8 of the schedule to the regulations add a new ground to existing jurisdiction grounds that allows applications if either party to a joint application is habitually resident in England and Wales. When the United Kingdom left the EU, the EU regulation known as Brussels IIa was revoked, and the applicable jurisdiction grounds contained in Brussels IIa were replicated in domestic law. The additional jurisdiction ground also applicable to joint applications was not replicated, as at that time it was not possible to make a joint application for divorce or dissolution in England and Wales. That ground is now being added to the available grounds as a consequence of the Act introducing joint applications.
The remaining amendments in the schedule all contain amendments to terminology consequential on the changes made by the Act. For example, petitions will become applications, and “decree absolute” is replaced with “final order”. This statutory instrument will update this language across relevant secondary legislation. With that, I commend it to the Committee.
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, I believe, Mr Dowd. I welcome you to the Chair and am pleased to advise you that I will not detain you for very long this morning.
The Minister mentioned the EU. Our divorce from our European partners two years ago was the saddest divorce of all for me. I know that we have to accept it and get on with it, but it is sad all the same.
As the Minister has explained, this statutory instrument makes a number of amendments to existing legislation that are consequential on the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which will come into effect this coming April. Labour very much welcomed that Act and supported its passage through Parliament. It introduces a common-sense approach to divorces and allows people to avoid unnecessary additional conflict and cost when dealing with divorces, while continuing to respect the institution of marriage and civil partnerships.
It will therefore be no surprise to the Minister that we support this statutory instrument, as we supported the Act itself. We are pleased by how the Act has modernised the language of divorce to introduce more accessible phrasing, some of which is used in this statutory instrument. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) said on Second Reading:
“It is a reminder that the law must serve all people, not just those who are legally trained.”—[Official Report, 8 June 2020; Vol. 677, c. 107.]
I will, however, take this opportunity to press the Minister on a matter that was raised by the Opposition as the Bill passed through the Commons, regarding the provision of legal aid in these cases. He knows, as I do, that legal aid in all manner of legal proceedings has been decimated in recent years, and it is often the case that only those with the means can afford proper representation. While it is hoped that the system introduced by this Act will help to reduce the cost of divorces, the Minister will know that that cost can still be very high indeed. Without legal aid, the issue of access to divorce for those on low incomes is still very much a concern, and I would welcome the Minister’s thoughts on that matter and any proposals he might have to make life easier for those who have been unable to achieve the final separation needed.
The Minister will also be aware that there can be tremendous inequality in representation, where one partner may be controlling the finances and is able to access support and advice, leaving the other with no resources at all. I am sure he will agree that it is important that there is equality under the law in such circumstances, and that no one is placed at a disadvantage. I look forward to the Minister’s response.
Tom Pursglove
I am very grateful to the shadow Minister for his broad support for the measures. These important reforms—the biggest reforms to divorce law in over five decades—will come to fruition in April, and I know that colleagues across the House support and welcome them. Ensuring that proceedings can be carried out in a far less confrontational and controversial way will benefit families and, in particular, children.
I will gladly take away the shadow Minister’s point about legal aid and discuss it with my ministerial colleague with responsibility for it. It is right that we always keep under review the appropriateness of the legal aid offer in place across the legal system and the judicial system. The hon. Gentleman stated his desire for a greater legal aid offer; I will gladly pass that on so that ministerial colleagues can consider it in full. With that, I commend these regulations to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.