HC Deb 16 June 1976 vol 913 cc691-3
Mr. Wellbeloved

I beg to move Amendment No. 1, in page 8, line 17, after '(5)', insert— '(a) of the word "authorised" for the word "provided", and (b)'.

The Deputy Chairman

With this we may also take Government Amendments Nos. 24, 30 and 34.

Mr. Wellbeloved

The House will be pleased to know that this is a purely drafting amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Question proposed, That the clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill.

Mr. David Walder (Clitheroe)

The Minister will recollect that the clause deals with what those who served on the Committee regarded as a particularly sensitive area, where proposals are set out to deal with juveniles. The difficult problem that the Committee found related to a reception order made overseas which had to be implemented in the United Kingdom.

The obvious problem—if I may put it very much in a shorthand way—was where to send a juvenile in respect of whom a reception order had been made. Should he be sent to what was alleged to be his home county or home town, or to some area where perhaps his relatives lived? The Committee was rightly exercised with this problem. We were assured that we would be hearing further about the details of the arrangements, about which, I would argue, we must be satisfied before we can properly say that this matter is settled.

The Minister will remember that the Committee's problem was that the Bedfordshire County Council was chosen by the Ministry of Defence as what I might call the reception council. There was correspondence between the DHSS and the council which, in the Committee's view, was somewhat unsatisfactory. I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman could satisfy us a little more on this area.

Mr. Wellbeloved

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter. The whole question of juveniles and reception orders was left slightly in the air in the Select Committee. The Select Committee was concerned that there had not been formal consultation with Bedfordshire County Council over the proposal that children made the subject of reception orders should first go to an observation and assessment centre provided by that authority if there were no other authority with which they or their families already had close ties.

This consultation has now taken place and on 8th June the council's social services committee agreed on behalf of the council to accept the task of caring for the children when they first arrived in the United Kingdom. Like the Select Committee, however, it is anxious that the children should not be subjected to uncertainties and has asked that it be given as long notice as possible of children's arrival. We and DHSS are equally anxious that these transfers should go as smoothly as possible and will naturally do our best to comply with this request. The council has also asked DHSS for an assurance that it would help in any case of difficulty. That assurance, too, is given.

Lastly, the council has asked for the working of the arrangements to be reviewed annually. This would seem prudent to us, and arrangements will be made for that to be done. We believe that, with good will on all sides, the new system will operate as successfully as have the long-standing arrangements for transfer to care in this country of children from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Mr. David Walder

The hon. Gentleman speaks about an annual review. Will the findings of that review be made known to the House?

Mr. Wellbeloved

I shall consider that request and see what can be done to meet it.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 11 to 19 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

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