Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle safeguarding issues relating to (a) children at risk of being removed from the UK in contravention of a court ruling and (b) other children with a foreign national parent.

The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ 2023 is clear that, if at any time it is considered that a child may be in need or has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should be made immediately to a local authority’s children’s social care service. Child protection agencies and the police treat allegations of abuse very seriously; they will investigate and take appropriate action, including prosecution, where there is sufficient evidence of an offence having been committed.

A prohibited steps order (PSO) prevents a parent from carrying out actions in the exercise of their parental responsibility for a child without the court’s agreement. A PSO may prohibit a named person from removing a child from the United Kingdom.

The court can also make other orders to support such an order to prevent the removal of the child from the United Kingdom, such as an order to surrender a passport.

Breach of a PSO is a contempt of court, with penalties including a fine or imprisonment.

A Port Alert Order is designed to prevent a child, or a Vulnerable adult being removed from England and Wales on the instruction of a Judge of the Family Court on Behalf of the High Court, or directly from a High Court Judge. Police then watchlist the named individual to ensure any intention to travel is identified. If travel is identified, then an alert is sent to the relevant Port and Police Force. The Order instructs police at port to seize the travel documents of the person subject to the Order (for example their Passport, Identity Card or other Travel Document) to prevent the child or Vulnerable adult from leaving the country.