ADOPTION BY MARRIED COUPLE (Hansard, 28 October 1975)

§ Dr. Owen
I beg to move Amendment No. 215, in page 6, line 28, at beginning insert— 'Subject to sections 35(1) and 50(1),'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this amendment we may discuss Government Amendments No. 216, 31 to 34, 212 and 213.

§ Dr. Owen
I undertook in Committee on 10th July to introduce an amendment on Report to meet two points made in debate. The first of these was to include in the provisions of Part I of the Bill—the provisions in Clauses 10 and 11—specifying what a court should consider when dealing with an adoption application, a forward reference to the power of the court when considering an adoption application, to make a custodianship order instead, that is, the provisions of what is now new Clause 35. The first objective is met by Amendments Nos. 215 and 216.
The second point was that the wording of what is now new Clause 35—Clause 1451 50 for Scotland—should be altered to bring it more closely into conformity with Recommendation 20 of the Houghton Committee. I hope that the House will think we have met those points.
Amendments No. 212 and 213 to Clause 50 make equivalent provisions in Scotland to Clause 35(1) for England and Wales, requiring that the court shall not make an adoption order in the case of an application by a relative or step-parent unless it is positively satisfied that the adoption is the better course in the particular case. I believe that that faithfully records the undertaking I gave in Committee.