§ Mr. Abseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied that the protection of a child who has been left by parents, unable or unwilling to provide a home, in the care of a local authority for many years is adequate; whether he is aware that the rights of parents and not the welfare of the child is the predominant consideration in any application made by a local authority to assume parental rights; whether he is aware of the present difficulties of local authorities who because of the restrictive grounds upon which applications for assumption of parental rights may be made are holding children in care at grave risks to the welfare of the child; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsWith the enlargement, by Section 48 of the Children and 311W Young Persons Act, 1963, of the grounds on which a local authority may, by resolution, assume parental rights, I think that the law provides reasonably adequate safeguards for a child in care whose parents are unfit to care for him. The issue before a court, in considering a complaint by a local authority under Section 2(3) of the Children Act, 1948, is whether the parent has abandoned the child or is, on grounds specified in the Statute, unfit to have the care of the child. I am aware that cases arise in which there are no grounds for a resolution under Section 2 but in which the local authority has some apprehension about the effects on the child of a change of environment. There is force in the view, which I believe to be that of most local authorities, that a solution should be sought by way of improved casework with children and their families rather than through further amendment of the law.