Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jake Richards and Alison Hume

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

12. What assessment he has made of the risks to children and families from the use of unregulated child contact centres.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

A report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and published in 2023 found limited evidence of unaccredited child contact centres. Protocols make it clear that as part of family court proceedings, the judiciary and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service should refer families only to centres accredited by the National Association of Child Contact Centres. There are, however, clearly issues with the sector, in terms of cost and accessibility, and we will always seek to improve it.

[Alison Hume]

In cases where family court proceedings lead to child removal, parents can be forced to use unregulated contact centres—it can cost hundreds of pounds for just a few hours of contact—because of a lack of accessible, regulated contact centre provision. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of this situation on the welfare of children and families, and will his Department initiate a review of current arrangements?

[Jake Richards]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. Where it is safe to do so, we would always encourage parents to have contact with their children. The courts encourage this; it is always in the child’s best interests to have that contact. Where contact centres are necessary, they need to be close to home and, clearly, affordable. This sector is independent of Government, but if it is not working, as we are hearing from my hon. Friend, we will look into it in due course.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise this issue. Some 80,000 disabled people are unable to access funds that are legally theirs, and that is a disgrace. This is a complex issue, because mental capacity is a complex area of law and we must have due regard to the safeguarding mechanisms, but it cannot be beyond the wit of this place, or indeed of the Government, to overcome that obstacle. I met the leader of the Liberal Democrats last week to discuss this issue, and we are going to make progress in the coming weeks.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

T3. I recently met a high street law firm that has offices in Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. As a small company, it worries that the Government’s proposals to take a proportion of the interest earned on client accounts could lead it to shed jobs and, potentially, premises. Will the Minister outline what assessment she has made of the impact of these proposals on the viability of high street solicitors?