§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans his Department has to ensure that the public gallery in court is cleared during the evidence of children in cases of alleged abuse. [32039]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Court Service is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
Letter from M. D. Huebner to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 6 July 1995:
PQ 95/677: CHILD ABUSE CASESThe Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to the above Question about the evidence of children in cases of alleged abuse.I should let you know that, with few exceptions, proceedings in the Crown Court are held in open court. However, section 37(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 enables a court to direct that all persons, other than court staff, the parties and their legal representatives, be excluded from court when evidence is given by a child or young person in proceedings contrary to decency or morality. The parents or guardian of a child witness can ask their legal adviser to make such an application. It is then for the judge to decide, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.