§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much training judges are having on the implementation of the Children Act 1989.
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Children Act 1989 requires that cases arising under the Act are heard by judges specifically authorised for the purpose by the Lord Chancellor. Before granting this authorisation, the Lord Chancellor requires that the judge should have had the appropriate training arranged by the Judicial Studies Board. For public law, this involves attending a seminar on the subject of care cases. District judges who handle such cases also receive training. In addition, family work is included in induction and refresher training for district judges and guidance on both public and private law work is given at one-day family law seminars held on circuits and attended by all levels of the judiciary involved in this work. The Judicial Studies Board also holds a conference each year for the family division liaison judges and the designated family judges, which is chaired by the president of the family division.