Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases involving allegations of parental alienation or alienating behaviours have been heard in private law family proceedings in each of the past five years; and how many findings of parental alienation or alienating behaviours were made in those proceedings.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Transfers of residency orders, incidences of findings of child sexual abuse in private law proceedings, and cases involving allegations of parental alienation or alienating behaviours are not recorded centrally. Such information could only be obtained by analysis of individual case files at disproportionate costs.
Regarding the term “parental alienation”: as part of his judgment in the case of Re C, the President of the Family Division outlined that most family judges regard the label of “parental alienation”, and the idea that it “may be a diagnosable syndrome” as being “unhelpful”. He noted that instead the courts should focus on identifying any specific “alienating behaviours”.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's report entitled Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases, published in June 2020, what steps his Department plans to take to further engage children in family court proceedings.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The welfare of the child is the family court’s paramount concern and any decisions about future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle.
In February 2022, we launched the Investigative Approach Pathfinder court pilot in Dorset and North Wales. This pilot aims to improve the experiences for children and their parents in private law proceedings and particularly those who may need additional support, such as domestic abuse survivors. A key part of this is a stronger ‘voice of the child’ approach to ensure that, where appropriate, children’s wishes and views are central to proceedings. Evaluation of the pilot is ongoing.
In May 2023, the government published an update to the Implementation Plan for the “Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases” report, which demonstrates the good progress we have made to date and reiterates our determination to continue to respond recommendations of the report.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken for school admission decisions to be made for pupils temporarily residing in domestic abuse refuges; and if she will take steps with local authorities to reduce that time.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government has not carried out a recent assessment of the time taken to secure a school place for children living in domestic abuse refuges, but has changed the School Admissions Code in 2021 to improve support for the in-year admission of vulnerable children and help to reduce to a minimum any gaps in their education.
The 2021 Code requires admission authorities to inform parents of the outcome of their in-year application within 15 school days. Where a parent is having difficulty securing a place following the in-year process, each local authority must have a Fair Access Protocol (FAP) which requires an eligible child to be allocated a school place within 20 school days. The government extended eligibility for the FAP in the new Code to children who are living in a refuge or other relevant accommodation.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that non-molestation orders as result of domestic abuse should apply automatically to any children of the parent who has been abused.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has not made an assessment of the merits of requiring that non-molestation orders as result of domestic abuse should apply automatically to any children of the parent who has been abused and has no current plans to do so.
Non-molestation orders can be extended to protect relevant children where this is considered necessary. Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 requires that the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration in all decisions made about them. An automatic provision, which would give no opportunity for this consideration, would risk undermining this principle.
As well as non-molestation orders, the family court can make a range of orders to protect children and further their best interests. These include section 8 orders under the Children Act 1989 including prohibited steps order, specific issues orders and child arrangement orders.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits every school having an identified and trained person to provide support to children and young people who have experienced (a) domestic violence, (b) child sexual abuse and (c) other forms of trauma.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In accordance with the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare. Section 47 of the Act requires local authorities to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer harm. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018’ provides statutory guidance on legal requirements and inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Where a child is deemed to be a victim of, or a witness to, domestic abuse, or has suffered child sexual abuse, a referral must be made to children’s social care. Local authority children’s social care will make an assessment of what support is needed in the specific case. Where specific identification of support in schools or colleges is needed, the designated safeguarding lead will work with the mental health support lead and/or others to support children to achieve educational outcomes.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing the legal aid means test for (a) survivors and (b) victims of domestic abuse in private family law proceedings.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We have expanded the scope of family legal aid, delivering on our commitments to support victims of domestic abuse and special guardians to access legal aid. This means an increase in funding of £13m per year.
We have also put in place an eligibility waiver for victims of domestic abuse applying for an injunction or other protective order, which means they can receive legal aid even if they would not otherwise pass the means test, though they may have to pay a financial contribution towards their legal costs.
We will exclude assets such as the family home from the means test where they are the subject matter of the dispute or where coercive behaviour has denied applicants use of their shared marital assets, making it easier for domestic abuse victims to access legal aid.
Domestic abuse victims in receipt of Universal Credit who are seeking a protective order will receive free legal aid for themselves and their children. These orders are uniquely linked to the safety of domestic abuse victims and their families. This means domestic abuse victims who are in receipt of Universal Credit will continue to have access to urgent injunctions regardless of their financial situation.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2022 to Question 101751 on Children: Maintenance, whether his Department (a) has launched and (b) plans to launch a review into using gross income to calculate child maintenance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s response to the Independent Review of CMS’s handling of domestic abuse cases announced our intentions to look again at the child maintenance calculation to ensure it is fit for purpose and fair for both parents in light of societal changes since it was last looked at. The review is ongoing, and any changes would require changes to primary legislation and will be brought forward in the usual way. Any changes will always be made according to the best interests of children.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the recommendations of Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases report, published in June 2020, to be implemented.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We have made good progress on many of the measures that the Government committed to taking forward following the publication of the Harm Panel report.
In June 2023, my department published a delivery update that set out the action we have taken so far, as well as the action we intend to take.
Work on important measures, such as the Integrated Domestic Abuse Court pilots and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s new monitoring mechanism, is ongoing. We will provide further updates on this work as appropriate.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of automatic renewal of Section 95 asylum support applications on six monthly basis while an individual's asylum claim is being determined.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Legal aid has been and will continue to be available for asylum cases, for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration cases where someone is challenging a detention decision.
Where asylum support is granted, that individual will remain in receipt of asylum support until a decision is taken to discontinue the support. This could be where the person is no longer destitute, their asylum claim has been determined or where they no longer meet the conditions of support. There is no time limit or renewal period.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of eligibility criteria for legal claims relating to section 95 claims on asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Legal aid has been and will continue to be available for asylum cases, for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration cases where someone is challenging a detention decision.
Where asylum support is granted, that individual will remain in receipt of asylum support until a decision is taken to discontinue the support. This could be where the person is no longer destitute, their asylum claim has been determined or where they no longer meet the conditions of support. There is no time limit or renewal period.