Contact Orders (Hansard, 18 July 2002)

§ Vera Baird
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what investigations the Department is undertaking of the cases of 15 children killed while subject to contact arrangements in England and Wales; how many contact orders were involved in these cases; and in how many of these cases the resident parent was advised by court professionals to agree to informal contact arrangements. [68317]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Lord Chancellor's Department is working with the Home Office and Department of Health to identify cases brought to our attention where children may have been killed while the subject of contact orders. In some cases it appears contact orders were in place. We are now looking for court files to determine the basis on which contact was ordered. We have not yet established whether the former Court Welfare Service played a role (if any) in the above cases. Court staff do not give legal advice. The advice given to parents by their legal advisers is subject to professional confidentiality.

§ Ms Shipley
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contact centres offering supervised contact there are in(a) Bristol, (b) Birmingham, (c) Bournemouth, (d) Bradford, (e) Cardiff, (f) Coventry, (g) Leicestershire, (h) Liverpool, (i) Manchester, (j) Nottingham, (k) Northampton, (l) Oxford, (m) Swindon, (n) Southampton, (o) Stoke-on-Trent, (p) Swansea, (q) Taunton and (r) Worcester. [68211]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
Child contact centres are run by the voluntary sector. No comprehensive data is kept on how many child contact centres offering supervised contact exist. We are aware that of the approximate 280 child contact centres in England and Wales currently526W affiliated to the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC), 35 offer supervised contact. One of these is located in Manchester.
The Child Contact Centre Stakeholder Group, which includes NACCC, is currently working in partnership with the Lord Chancellor's Department to map the provision of child contact centres in England and Wales. This will assist in developing a national network of child contact centres that can provide safe and meaningful contact between children and their non-resident parent.

§ Ms Shipley
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contact centres offering supervised contact there are in Wales. [68210]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
Child contact centres are run by the voluntary sector. No comprehensive data is kept on how many child contact centres offering supervised contact exist. We are aware that in Wales there are 11 centres currently affiliated to the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC). Of these, one offers supervised contact and is located in Newport. The Child Contact Centre Stakeholder Group, which includes NACCC, is currently working in partnership with the Lord Chancellor's Department to map the provision of child contact centres in England and Wales. This will assist in developing a national network of child contact centres that can provide safe and meaningful contact between children and their non-resident parent.