HC Deb 22 March 1993 vol 221 cc445-6W
Mr. Olner

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the extension of the application of the Hague convention to access rights.

Mr. John M. Taylor

The Hague convention on civil aspects of child abduction makes provision for access rights. There are no immediate plans to seek to extend such provision.

Mr. Olner

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is considering to make United Kingdom legal aid available to parents seeking to recover children abducted to countries where such assistance is not available.

Mr. John M. Taylor

The principle behind the legal aid schemes in England and Wales and Northern Ireland is that they assist individuals, regardless of their nationality, to undertake proceedings in the English, Welsh and Northern Irish courts. It would not be appropriate to extend the schemes to cover proceedings in other jurisdictions, many of which will have their own legal aid schemes which provide assistance to United Kingdom citizens on the same basis as for their own citizens. The legal aid scheme in Scotland is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Mr. Olner

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to improve the training of lawyers, magistrates and judges in the areas of child abduction.

Mr. John M. Taylor

Specific responsibility for the training of lawyers lies with the Law Society and the Council for Legal Education. The Judicial Studies Board is responsible for the provision of training for the professional judiciary and advises on the training of lay magistrates. Magistrates have limited powers, in cases of abduction but would be advised by their justices' clerks. The subject is included as part of the general training for those members of the circuit judiciary dealing with family matters. Proceedings to which the Hague convention applies come before experienced family division judges. The board will carefully consider the recommendations made in the report, "Home and Away".