"I think I need to clarify a point of law—I am looking to the noble Lord, Lord Meston. In care proceedings, is parental responsibility removed? I do not believe it is; it remains with the parents. That is very important...." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, I am grateful to noble Lords who have spoken and for the considered nature of the response and the clarification regarding the special guardianship. However, as we have outlined, other people remain having parental responsibility and it seems that under the Bill, as it is only one person, …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, I too am grateful to my noble friend Lady Evans for securing today’s debate and getting an opportunity to talk about the good news of English schools in the midst of such bad global news. I was one of the Schools Ministers in DfE in the midst of …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, I have put my name to Amendment 147. I find myself in agreement with much that has been said. It has been a consistent recommendation to His Majesty’s Government since the independent review that there should be a statutory test of competence or capacity for those aged under …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"The Minister’s own policy document says that this test should be in the code of practice. How does that not also contribute to the undermining of Gillick that the Minister refers to?..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak briefly in support Amendment 133. I know the hour is late. As I asked the Minister, why is it that issues relating to this focus, which was the focus of the Bill, seem always to end up at the end of our debates? I am …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, I add my support for Amendment 58, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, and to which I have added my name. Briefly, given the time, the care and treatment plan is a major plank, a pivotal safeguard of the Bill. The safeguard is not open to voluntary …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"Just before the Minister talks about that point, I understand her concern about the 12-month time limit, because it would be before the reforms are introduced. However, is she satisfied that there will be a robust baseline before the reforms are introduced so that we know what we are measuring …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister has spoken about the correlation between ethnicity and poverty. We often talk about the cost of a school uniform, but there is no need for swimwear or anything of that nature to be branded. Are His Majesty’s Government looking at whether the cost of additional items …..." Baroness Berridge - View Speech