HC Deb 12 July 1989 vol 156 c516W
Mr. Devlin

To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stockton, South of 3 July, whether he will give the total number of representations on the subject of family courts received in the last six months, what was the number in favour of the idea, and the number against; and if he will summarise the arguments presented in representations against.

The Attorney-General

As I indicated in my answer to the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Devlin) of 3 July, precise information about representations to my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor is not readily available as much of the correspondence refers to family courts as one of a number of issues or as an ancillary matter to the main focus of the correspondence. While it is true to say that correspondents generally favour a family court, there are none the less divergences of opinion on the many specific issues comprehended by the concept. Moreover, correspondents often fail to explain what they mean by the phrase in any meaningful detail so that it is not possible to identify what it is that they are in favour of and why.