Black Lives Matter

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg [V]]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her question and pay tribute to her work. She has been a passionate and effective campaigner for a fairer society for all. The work of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust has benefited many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I agree with her that across all our policy we must make sure we reflect that black lives matter. We are absolutely committed to tackling racism and levelling up. That means unleashing potential and creating opportunity for all. We have set up the Government’s Race Disparity Unit, a world first, for publishing data on ethnicity. It is working across Whitehall and with local authorities to ensure that all our interventions are properly considered and that “black lives matter” is in everything we do.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD) [V]]

My Lords, 50 years ago I was stopped in my car and aggressively questioned by the police. My three brothers have all been stopped and searched aggressively. Twenty years ago my 16 year-old nephew was stopped and brutally beaten up in the back of a police van, then falsely charged. Shockingly, in 2020 during lockdown we saw excessive force used when a black man was tasered in front of his toddler. Today’s protests have shown that we are at a tipping point. What action do the Government plan, especially through education, to reassure the black community, including children, that their lives matter?

[Baroness Sugg [V]]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question and pay tribute to all the work she has done on supporting the Windrush generation. The Government are clear that no one should be stopped and searched based on their race or ethnicity. We are working with the College of Policing to update guidance on community engagement and scrutiny over the use of stop and search powers and are ensuring that the law requires detailed records and scrutiny.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank my noble friend for asking that question. Yes, we need to turn what has now widely been seen as a negative period in our history into a positive period, one in which the Windrush generation contributed hugely to this country after the war. I do not know about funding, but I can certainly find out for my noble friend. I will let her know and place a copy in the Library.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her kind words, as well as my noble friend. I am part of the Windrush generation and this issue is close to my heart. I was delighted to hear the Statement being read out. I am also happy to say that not only do we have a Windrush Day, which 50 applicants will be getting money to celebrate, but we have £500,000 to spend each year on Windrush Day from now on, which is great. The Prime Minister has also asked me to chair the Windrush Commemoration Committee and has given us £1 million to create a significant Windrush monument to recognise and celebrate this important part of our history—the great contribution the Windrush generation has made to Britain—and for us to leave a lasting legacy. However, many have asked why the money is not being spent on compensating those affected by the Windrush scandal. This is something that the committee has to deal with all the time. I say that we must do both. What are the Government doing to deal with this criticism, to bring harmony and to bring an end to the Windrush scandal as soon as possible?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank the noble Baroness for outlining the money that has been spent, which I could not do in answer to my noble friend—she has of course been right at the heart of this for some months now. As for spending money on Windrush compensation rather than on the projects and the monument the noble Baroness talks about, we are actually going to spend it on both. The scheme overall is not capped, although obviously certain elements of it are financially limited. She can be confident that we will fulfil our obligations in both areas.

Deportation: Jamaica

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Wednesday 6th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend makes a good point. The Home Secretary has been in touch with the high commissioners. Of course, local—particularly Caribbean—communities are best placed to know where people who need help can seek it and where cases can be dealt with. We have reached out to all these Caribbean communities and beyond in order to encourage people to come forward to get the help which they might need to resolve their status.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, there is a real need to have cultural understanding of individuals who are being investigated. There needs to be public confidence that people are being treated fairly. How many BAME people are Home Office officials working on these cases to give the public the confidence they need?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am afraid that I cannot answer the noble Baroness’s exact question, but I will find out what proportion of BAME staff work in the Home Office and let her know that.

Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 18th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson, for bringing this Bill to the House. I want to speak on Clause 3 of this important and brave Bill and on the traumatic and devastating issue of baby loss, which sadly affects around one in four pregnancies each year across the UK, resulting in around 258,000 losses. It is estimated that around 38 million baby losses occur globally each year. I am one of those statistics, as I have experienced three miscarriages, and I am sure most women in this Chamber have also experienced a miscarriage or know of someone who has. It is heartbreaking. As in my miscarriages, the majority of people who experience baby loss do so during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, yet sadly these individuals, couples and families have no formal recognition of their child’s life, as current legislation provides certification and registration only for loss that occurs after 24 weeks’ gestation.

Thirty-five years ago, I tried to raise this issue by attempting to get a television programme commissioned to highlight the issue, but at the time it was a taboo subject, and the programme was not made. For years, women and their partners have suffered in silence. I am thankful that six years ago the significant and important issues surrounding baby loss were highlighted globally by Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, the founders of the Mariposa Trust, better known as the charity Saying Goodbye. I declare an interest as one of its ambassadors. They have worked tirelessly to provide crucial support to parents, siblings, grandparents, extended families and friends affected by this type of bereavement. They provide international services of remembrance that allow tens of thousands of families to have their babies publicly acknowledged for the first time. They also provide training to raise the standard of care given to those devastated people and campaign for improvements in how bereaved parents are cared for and supported by the NHS and beyond.

Zoe and Andy formed the charity because of their five-times personal tragedy of baby loss. Those experiences showed them the desperate need for parents to receive better support. They knew that improvements in the care people received at the time of loss, as well as access to information and advice, were essential, so the charity has developed key resources, provided free of charge, that are widely used across the NHS and support groups. They have also pioneered the use of social media to support people effectively. Two years ago, when I heard Zoe’s inspirational call for a new baby loss certificate, I pledged to work with her to make it a reality, so I introduced a Private Member’s Bill, the Certificate of Loss Bill, in the hope of giving grieving parents the opportunity, for the first time, to receive a document that would show that their child existed.

It is with this in mind that I want to speak today, given the progress of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill introduced by the honourable Tim Loughton MP in the other place. To give some history about where we are, in February 2018, the right honourable Jeremy Hunt MP, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced that he wanted to launch a review into the introduction of certificates for babies lost prior to 24 weeks’ gestation. This coincided with the Second Reading of Tim Loughton’s Bill, which in Clause 3 asks for a review of the registration of baby loss. In March 2018, the Secretary of State appointed Zoe Clark-Coates to co-chair the review, utilising her expertise as a leader in the field of grief and baby loss, as an author on the subject and as a mother who has experienced baby loss.

Following the announcement of the review, the Secretary of State expanded it to include a review of all care relating to baby loss. Over the past 10 months, the national pregnancy loss review has been conducted by Zoe and her co-chair Samantha Collinge, a specialist bereavement support manager at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. They have gone to extraordinary lengths to investigate how parents are cared for and supported following the loss of their babies and whether certification should be introduced. They have visited numerous hospitals to speak to front-line NHS nurses, doctors and midwives, conducted forums with bereaved parents around the country and engaged with stakeholders and religious and minority groups, as well as local and national charities, parliamentarians and other experts in the field. They have seen passionate and hard-working midwives, doctors and medical professionals going to extreme lengths to care for people, witnessed both good and bad practice, heard horrific stories of care going wrong and seen the shortfalls in the current provision of care. They are currently finalising their recommendations, which will be published this year.

This review is the start of what should be a major overhaul of how bereaved parents are cared for following loss. The introduction of certification would be a significant move towards providing parents with formal recognition that their child existed, which is what everyone universally is calling for. I have made this recommendation to the right honourable Matt Hancock, the current Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who, along with others, I hope shares my belief that the findings of this review need to be actioned and not just left on a shelf to gather dust.

I fully support introducing registration and certification for losses that occur before 24 weeks’ gestation where the following conditions are met: that the scheme is voluntary and there is no legal requirement for a parent of the child to register the loss; that all loss pre-24 weeks is eligible for registration; that medical verification is optional; and that retrospective registration and certification is available for all future and past pre-24-week losses, which will help people on their bereavement journey.

It has become clear that medical verification might not be available for the registration of all cases of pre-24-week loss. Those experiencing early loss might never have been seen by medical professionals, and early first-trimester loss might have been managed at home outside the medical environment. Therefore, I support the recommendation that medical verification should be optional and that, if no verification is available, that should not prevent parents registering their loss. This would allow the greatest flexibility for applicants and would support retrospective registration where medical verification might no longer be available.

I believe that registration and certification should be as inclusive and generous as possible, and that therefore all loss pre-24 weeks should be eligible for registration should the parents choose to do so, as this offers true compassion. In the spirit of this generosity, retrospective registration should also be available. It is clear from various sampling conducted by the Mariposa Trust and other organisations that there is a high demand for this. In a survey conducted by the trust in January 2017, of the 2,634 responders, 82.4% stated that a certificate being issued to them would have made a real difference and 88.4% stated that the issue was very important to them.

I believe that we are at a crossroads. We could continue to give sub-standard support and not formally recognise these losses for what they are—the death of a baby—or we could acknowledge the long-term negative effects of baby loss, such as trauma, relationship breakdown, and physical and mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and do everything we can to address them. I believe that we should embrace the national pregnancy loss review findings and support the implementation of its recommendations to improve care across the NHS, as well as implement certification. I also believe that the current chairs of the review should be engaged to oversee the implementation and outworking across the NHS and beyond. They have the expertise and experience to do so with dedication, compassion and commitment. Clause 3 lays a foundation for certification to be introduced, so I strongly believe that it should be supported on its journey through the House of Lords.

In conclusion, to focus our minds on the importance of this issue and the devastating effect of baby loss, in the time I have taken to speak in this debate today, around five families in the UK and 650 families around the world will have lost a baby.

Airports: Border Force

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I anticipated that Brexit might come into this, as it has into every debate we have had for the last few months, so I said that in anticipation of projected increases in demand across the border, and to announce that we will be having a nationwide recruitment campaign of up to 1,000 further officers.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, it has been drawn to my attention that diplomats from the Caribbean, such as governors-general, are not allowed to pass through the diplomatic channels at airports. Can the Minister explain why that is, and what directive needs to be given to immigration staff at airports to change this unwelcome behaviour?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I can certainly take that back, because I do not know the direct answer. That comment was made to me some weeks ago, but I shall take it back to the department and get a suitable reply for the noble Baroness.

Windrush Generation

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank my noble friend for being the one person behind me, and I of course echo his points: this is a shameful episode in our history. The rights of these people are the rights of British citizens. However, I do not think it was the misinterpretation of legislation but rather its unintended consequence that did not—I do not want to say “confer”—confirm the rights of these people. They are not illegal migrants and that is why my right honourable friend the Home Secretary is going to right this wrong as soon as we can. He talks about other people perhaps being victims of a similar thing. That is why the measures we have in place for EU citizens are so important, so that this type of unintended consequence does not happen in the future.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, this is the third time in the last week that I have spoken on this appalling issue, and it breaks my heart to do so. The image of broken-hearted elderly men and women of the Windrush generation weeping on television over the truly unbelievable treatment they have received will remain with us for a long time. They are etched on the nation’s mind and consciousness. It could so easily have been my life being torn apart, but it is good to see the Government showing remorse and determination to put right things that should never have happened.

Will the Government, rather than just relying on victims coming forward, as the Minister has said several times, be proactive in reaching out to local communities and black-led churches to engage with those who have lost trust and confidence and are too traumatised to come forward? They truly are. For some, financial compensation will never be enough, but can the Minister tell the House if the compensation package will include backdated benefits and pensions for those who lost entitlement to those benefits, including those who were wrongly deported and now live abroad?

I want something good to come out of all this, something positive. The country wants it. The Windrush generation needs it; they deserve it. As a mark of true sincerity and respect for those people, for all the Windrush generation and the country, will the Government consider having a Windrush day to celebrate what the Windrush generation has done for this country? They feel so much part of the fabric of our rich country, so let us show them that they are appreciated on 22 June every single year. Windrush day is what we need, so the Government can really show that they care.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness’s idea of a Windrush day is wonderful and I will certainly take that back. She is right that, rather than relying on victims coming forward, we should be proactively going out and ensuring that those who should be coming forward and require our assistance will do so. She is right on that proactive approach.

On compensation, I had a brief word with my colleague from DWP yesterday. The whole structure of the compensation scheme will be revealed in due course, but that is certainly an area where compensation might be appropriate, particularly if someone could not access their benefit because they were deemed not to be a citizen of this country.

Windrush Generation

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Benjamin]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to make reparations for the harm and distress caused to the Windrush generation.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and declare an interest as a patron of the Windrush Foundation.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, the Prime Minister has been clear that we will do whatever it takes, including, where appropriate, payment of compensation, to resolve the anxiety and problems which some of the Windrush generation have suffered. The Home Secretary will make a further announcement in the other place later today.

[Baroness Benjamin]

My Lords, the British public are furious at the Government-created Windrush fiasco. It is a matter of national shame, and trust and confidence need to be re-established. So can the Minister reassure the House that the new task force is made up of experienced, compassionate immigration officers, whose objective is to ensure unconditional British citizenship for these vulnerable Windrush generation victims, and that it is not in the hands of a box-ticking outside agency? Can she also confirm that the records of cases dealt with by the task force will be open and transparent? Will the Government reimplement the legislation in the Immigration Bill that would have protected these British citizens?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

First, if I could go back to the 2014 legislation, which I assume the noble Baroness refers to, the Immigration Act 1971 already protected these people. The noble Baroness goes absolutely to the right point, which is that the public are furious with the Government. In fact, successive Governments have failed to deal with this, so this should not be an occasion—and she does not make it one—for political infighting. We need to deal with it, and we need to deal with it now. The noble Baroness is absolutely right to point out that we need experienced people in this task force, and there are. They are not dealing with this as a box-ticking exercise but in a compassionate and sensitive way, and are ensuring that people who come forward, not to apply for citizenship but to have it confirmed that they have always been citizens of this country, will have that dealt with very sensitively.

Women: Contribution to Economic Life

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I am proud to speak in this International Women’s Day debate. I thank my noble friend Lady Northover for securing it as it gives us an opportunity to highlight the topsy-turvy world of women. I also congratulate my noble friend Lord Palumbo on his excellent maiden speech. I am thrilled that he chose to make it today as we celebrate this important event.

There has not been a better time for women to blossom and excel in a wide range of professions. In so many careers, women are striding forward and shaping the way their professions are delivered in areas which in the past were dominated by men, from test driving a Formula 1 racing car to being an award-winning architect. We now have a senior woman leading judge—mind you, she is the only woman among 12 Supreme Court Justices. We have the first woman to command a major Navy warship, Commander Sarah West, who took up her post just this year. All those women are making substantial contributions to the UK and global world and are wonderful role models.

Since my dear friend, the formidable Marchioness of Lothian—Tony to her friends—founded the Women of the Year lunch nearly 60 years ago to celebrate the achievements of women, many women have fought their way to the top of their profession across the spectrum, despite the barriers placed in their way. Over the years, those women have paved the way for the younger generation, which is now benefiting from their hard work, perseverance and determination.

The toughened glass ceiling still exists; it is very much in place; and there is much, much more to achieve and undiscovered territories to charter and to conquer. However, I am an optimist and like to focus on the bright side of life, so I point out that women are now leading the field in many professions, such as primary school teachers, in medicine as GPs, and in the veterinary world, where more than 60% of vets are women. Almost a quarter of senior positions in advertising are held by women, and they make up half of that world-leading industry which brought in £100 billion for the UK’s economy in 2012. At present, we have a female Lord Mayor of London, Fiona Woolf. Mind you, she is only the second in the City of London’s 800-year history. She is determined to make a difference and has set up the Power of Diversity programme to identify and promote the steps that the City at all management levels must take to maximise the energy and innovation that diversity can bring to business to create an inclusive labour market.

Speaking of diversity, women from culturally diverse backgrounds are still far behind in the race for equality and are battling to break through the many barriers and the many layers of glass ceilings that they encounter. They are even further behind than their white counterparts. There are very few in any senior positions, and that includes the nursing profession and the media—despite the fact that women make up a third of the senior positions in the media—or in the legal profession. The list goes on and on.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Howells of St Davids, highlighted in her speech, if you are black and a woman, it is a double whammy. In saying so, my mother would never have dreamt of being in my position today when she came to Britain back in 1958. Yes, who would have thought?

Whatever cultural background you are from, sadly, there are still gaps where women do not feature significantly, such as the upper levels of higher education where, despite the fact that women students outnumber men at university, only 17% of the UK’s vice-chancellors are women. Amazingly, only one Russell group university has a female vice-chancellor, and only 20% of all university professors are women. I am proud to say that the University of Exeter, where I am the Chancellor, so declare an interest, is leading the way, because 40% of the executive board are female. Our chair of council and one of our deputy vice-chancellors are both women.

Thankfully, a great deal of work is now being undertaken by universities and schools which aims to counteract early-stage gender stereotyping and engage young girls from all backgrounds academically and, later, professionally. There is also much being done to address social mobility to bridge that widening gap, especially in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths. I believe that this will go a long way to giving young women confidence and a sense of pride—to feel worthy and develop the ability to assert themselves, learning to seize opportunities to achieve success and take on roles from which they might normally shy away.

There is another area where there is a distinct absence of women: in top banking positions. Unbelievably, not one woman has ever served in the CEO position in a major bank. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia is ahead of us here because it announced just yesterday that its National Commercial Bank has appointed a woman in the top position. How long will it take us here in the UK to make such an announcement? I hope it is not too long because recently I was encouraged to hear that Lloyds Bank is setting up an initiative to attract women into senior positions in the banking world to address this inequality. Who knows? This could create a wholly different way of doing business that helps bring back trust in the banking world.

Women are finding it tough to juggle family life and childcare, which is very expensive, as we have heard time and again, and to hold down certain types of careers. So many are delaying having children because they want to establish a career first but those who decide to have a family early find that when they return to the workplace, having found adequate childcare, they have to start from scratch and not where they left off. Perhaps companies should be encouraged by the Government to set up some sort of re-entry scheme and make it available to these women to assist them to restart their careers, because those women’s talents are needed in the workplace and their skills are beneficial to the economy, if given a chance. I would be interested to hear my noble friend’s views on this idea.

Today, “housework” has another meaning for many women because, with the new technology available nowadays, women can work from home more easily. Many are now setting up successful businesses, which contribute to the economy, while being there for their children. One such original business is The Parent Zone, which was set up in 2005 to provide information that would help parents to keep their children safe in the digital world, as many parents find it difficult bringing up their children in this new age world. The Parent Zone has grown from strength to strength, supplying 1 million copies of its magazine to schools to help parents keep children protected. The need to do so is getting worse rather than better because too many children are becoming sexualised before their time, due to the adult material that is easily available online, including pornography. The Parent Zone is educating and influencing parents and contributing to society in a positive way.

However, it is not just the women in the workplace or those who run businesses from home who make a huge contribution to the global economy. There are also the women who are the unsung heroines of our economy and who contribute indirectly. Yes, we must also celebrate the contributions of the women who make a conscious decision to stay at home and care for their children. Interestingly, in Germany two-thirds of working women stay at home for the first two years of their children’s lives and are proud and happy to do so, yet here in Britain I often hear women use the phrase, “I’m only a housewife”. I say to those women that they should be proud of themselves because they are just as worthy as anyone and are contributing to the country’s future and long-term economy.

So let us not forget those women who stay at home and undertake the difficult task of childcare, managing the household and nurturing, guiding and motivating their children. They can be the best role models to their children. Even though it is a job that is not always celebrated, acknowledged or financially rewarded, it is invaluable and serves as the backbone of our society, giving children the confidence to take up their place in our global world and contribute in a positive way. I applaud them for choosing to forgo their careers and become some of the country’s biggest economic assets that benefit society.

I always pass on a philosophy that my beloved mother instilled in me: to encourage girls and young women to look far beyond the horizon with high self-esteem and a positive attitude, never taking no for an answer and never ever giving up. A whole new world awaits young women today who are now setting out on the pathway to a successful career. I am confident that the tide is turning and outdated prejudices are being swept away as business and industry realise that talented, hard-working women are a fantastic untapped resource.

I say to women everywhere: celebrate International Women’s Day with pride. The world needs you now more than ever, so be prepared to step up to the mark as you take your place and secure that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Do not be afraid to press the reset button and change the world. Have no fear about speaking out for the sake of good. Please do things the ethical way, though, for the future well-being of all the world’s children and our beautiful, delicate planet. Here’s to women across the world and to the men who believe in us.

Children and Families Bill

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Storey (LD)]

I will speak to Amendment 246, which I have also put my name to, and I thank my noble friend Baroness Walmsley for the detailed way in which she spoke to the amendment.

We were probably all watching Children in Need on Saturday. We saw young children in all sorts of situations. The idea that you respond to children who misbehave with corporal punishment beggars belief. I was teaching— in 1987, I think it was—when corporal punishment in schools was abolished. There were all sorts of dire warnings about what would happen. In fact, nothing happened. It made schools focus on proper child behaviour approaches.

I did not know, at that time, that the 1987 legislation did not include part-time institutions. I think that beggars belief. Any hitting of children, any corporal punishment, is child abuse. There is no other way to describe it. Like the noble Baroness, I would be interested to know, when the Minister replies, why we cannot take that next step, to make sure that corporal punishment is banned, outlawed, not allowed, in any establishment, whether part-time or otherwise.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, strongly support the amendments of my noble friend Lady Walmsley.

I will speak first to Amendment 243. For many years I was a school governor. One of my roles was that of child protection officer, for which I had to undergo training provided by the local council. These training sessions were attended by people across the borough, with responsibilities not just in schools but in community centres, Saturday schools and churches. At one such session I realised the worrying extent of superstition in these latter environments, involving children who, it was believed, were possessed by evil spirits.

The protection officers who also attended the training asked for better policies and advice to be put in place in establishments other than schools. They highlighted the need for training to protect children from what they believed was serious physical and mental abuse, driven by traditional superstition and sometimes religious beliefs. This abuse punished children who showed strong will or who misbehaved, perhaps because of learning difficulties, or because of conditions such as autism or dyslexia, or undiagnosed conditions which parents and families might not have been aware of or familiar with.

I also support Amendment 246. It has been brought to my attention, for some years now and from people across the country, that many children have had to endure corporal punishment and beatings in part-time educational institutions if they do not remember or learn work set for them, or achieve what is expected of them. This cruelty has to stop. We must not ignore any plea to safeguard all children, no matter where they are, what communities they live in, or where they come from. I therefore wholeheartedly support these amendments and hope that the Minister will put in place measures to protect these unfortunate children who have had to endure such awful and highly illegal abuse and cruelty.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, these amendments both relate to safeguarding specific groups of children. I will turn first to Amendment 243. While of course we believe that people should be free to express their views, I assure my noble friend Lady Walmsley and others that what is absolutely not acceptable is where expression of belief is intended to or causes harm to a child. My noble friends have made very powerful cases. Sometimes children are harmed by their parents or others. As a society we must be satisfied that we have the criminal offences to prosecute those who commit such behaviour. The Government have a key role to play, as do voluntary and other organisations working in the sector. We commend them for their work in shining a spotlight on this problem.

It is essential to raise awareness among the relevant communities and faith groups, and also among social workers and other practitioners—as the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, said—who may come into contact with families where such accusations have been made. It is only through awareness of the potential threat posed to a child’s well-being by such accusations that families, communities and practitioners can be empowered to prevent harm from taking place and, failing that, to act with confidence in reporting concerns to the relevant authorities.

At this point I would like to look at the criminal law. My noble friend made a powerful case that she thought that these kinds of witchcraft cases were excluded. The noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, said the opposite. We have considered the amendment carefully and we do not believe that it is necessary. We agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, in this regard. This is quite simply about child protection and human rights. If we cannot include these kinds of cases, what does our child protection mean? Although existing legislation does not specifically mention communication of a belief that a child is possessed by spirits, the current offence of child neglect already includes conduct likely to cause a child unnecessary suffering or injury to health. In addition, conduct not caught by the Section 1 offence could be caught by other offences, depending on the circumstances of the case.

For example, any person, not just a child’s parents or carers, who caused physical or psychiatric harm to a child—which I think is what my noble friends Lady Walmsley and Lady Brinton are talking about—could be prosecuted for the offence of assault. Similarly, any person whose words or behaviour cause serious alarm or distress to a child, or made the child fear that violence could be used against them, could be prosecuted under Sections 4 or 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 —or, if the behaviour formed part of a course of conduct, it could constitute an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

In addition, any person who encourages or assists such conduct could be prosecuted as a secondary participant, or on the basis of an offence under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. For example, a religious leader who encourages or assists parents or others to abuse or neglect a child, in the belief that the child is possessed by evil spirits, could be guilty of an offence. We must ensure that our child protection policy is overarching, and includes cases such as these and all other manifestations of child abuse.

Children and Families Bill

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2013 Grand Committee

[The Earl of Listowel]

I re-emphasise the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, that there needs to be training for people working with these vulnerable young people. I am very taken with the notion that there should be volunteer advocates working with them but as a volunteer myself, who has had experience of both very poor support and supervision and very good support and supervision, I suggest that the regulations should be very clear about what sort of supervision, training and support these advocates should receive. That is only fair to volunteers and it will make them much more effective as advocates and supporters of these young people. There is a great dearth of resource in children’s services at the moment and the danger is, if regulations are not clear about what the minimum requirements are, there may be a drive to produce the lowest-cost and lowest-quality advocates for these young people. I had only that comment to make. I very much support the amendment.

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, support this amendment. Anything we can do to make young people feel worthy is important. Many of these young people are suffering, through no fault of their own, and I wholly support any attempt to make them understand that there are people who care about their well-being, that there is a place to go and that there is some sort of support for them. I hope the Minister will consider these amendments very carefully.