§ Sir A. Wilsonasked the Home Secretary whether he will give such instructions to his Department as will prevent the adoption in this country of Catholic Spanish children brought from Bilbao and elsewhere, and who are now orphans, without the consent of the Spanish Government, whose wards they are?
§ Sir J. AndersonA foreign child cannot be legally adopted under the Adoption of Children Act in the United Kingdom. In one or two cases a Spanish child has, with the parents' written consent, been placed permanently in the care of a British subject.
§ Sir A. Wilsonasked the Home Secretary how many Spanish children are still in this country; why are they still being kept here; and what steps he has taken to ascertain if the Spanish Government is willing to receive them?
§ Sir J. AndersonThere are at present 1,054 Spanish children from Bilbao in this country. In addition to those already repatriated, it is expected that about 500 children will leave for Spain shortly, and negotiations are proceeding with the Basque Children's Committee and the Spanish Government for the repatriation of a further number. Some of the children have not been returned to Spain because their parents no longer live there, and the committee has not so far been able to make the necessary arrangements for the children to rejoin them.