§ 27. Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to require all local authorities to provide the parents of children in care with regular and not infrequent access to such children except in cases in which it is established before a court of law that it is not in a child's best interests for such access to be provided.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinI have no plans to do so. Local authorities are required to give first consideration to the welfare of children in their care. This will of course include visits by parents where appropriate, and there would be a presumption that, prima facie, such visits would be appropriate. But they are not appropriate in every case. The welfare of the child must remain the proper basis for decisions about parental access in individual cases.