Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lisa Smart and Alex Davies-Jones(3 days, 7 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
A British mother in my constituency, having fled domestic abuse, faces forced return to Poland to stay with her young children under the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction. With no knowledge of the local language and no source of income there, she risks either dependence on her abuser or homelessness. That is because the convention ignores the issue of domestic abuse, allowing it to be manipulated by abusers. Would Ministers support my Bill on the Hague abduction convention and domestic abuse, which I will present soon and which would change the implementation of the Hague convention in UK domestic law to protect mothers from the threat of return in this way?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)
I will happily meet the hon. Member to discuss her Bill and tackle this issue head on.