ADOPTION OF CHILDREN (SCOTLAND). (Hansard, 13 May 1931)

§ Mr. MATHERS

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act, 1930, with respect to the effect of adoptions under that Act for the purposes or the Widows', Orphans', and Old Age Contributory Pensions Acts. 1925 and 1929. The House was good enough last year to make the passage of the Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act a very easy one on it being explained that the desire of those promoting the Bill was to bring into operation in Scotland the position that prevailed in England with the passing of the Adoption of Children Act in 1926. This amending Bill seeks to approximate to the English position even more closely by providing that children adopted prior to the passage of the 1193 Scottish Act who would have been entitled to receive the allowance that is provided for in the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, 1925 and 1929, shall participate in that allowance. If I cared to recite to the House the number of cases of this kind which have come within my personal knowledge, I am sure hon. Members would readily agree it is desirable that in this respect we should endeavour to provide for the widow left with an adopted child. By that, I mean a child adopted in fact before the passage of the Scottish Child Adoption Act which made it legal to adopt children. Those widows who adopted a child under the old system should have an opportunity of receiving payment of the additional allowance.

This Bill is not retrospective in character in respect of any payments which are to be made. I might be asked why, if the difficulty with regard to those children was discovered so soon after the passage of the Act last year, I did not bring the matter before the House then and seek to have this amendment effected. The fact of the matter is that owing to the elaborate and costly procedure set forth under the Act of Sederunt, upon which the Scottish procedure is laid down for adoption, it has been almost impossible up to the present time for those in the position which I am seeking to relieve to take advantage of the Act of last year and have the children adopted. When I tell the House that in England an adoption of this kind can be carried through, in London, at a cost of 2s. whereas the approximate cost of carrying through an unopposed adoption order in Scotland at the present time is about £2 17s., hon. Members will realise that there is a considerable hardship put upon those who are endeavouring to have these adoptions brought about.

Since the passage of the original Act, I have been endeavouring to find ways and means of providing for cheaper and simpler adoption in Scotland. I am glad to say that I have had assistance in this matter from a number of bodies, especially women's organisations, and those efforts are being con- 1194 tinued. I hope that they will shortly be crowned with considerable success, and that we may have a very much cheaper procedure in Scotland. When that cheaper procedure is brought into operation, as I hope it will be, it will be possible to act upon this amending Bill. I therefore ask the House to give me leave to bring in the Bill. It is rather remarkable that in Scotland it is possible to obtain legal sanction to bring into existence a family of one's own very simply and very cheaply, whereas in England it is more difficult and costly; but the contrary is the case when it comes to a question of adopting at second hand a family already existing, as the Scottish position is much more expensive than that which prevails in England. I hope that not only will the House give me permission to bring in this Bill, but, in view of the hardships which are involved, will give me special sympathy so that the Bill may be brought into force as an Act of Parliament at the earliest possible moment.