§ Mr. LepperTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the timetable for the Government's response to the recommendations of the Advisory Board on Family Law Children Act Sub-Committee on(a) good practice guidelines for courts in relation to parental contact in cases where there is domestic violence and (b) training for the Court Welfare Service and the judiciary in understanding the effects of domestic violence on children and parents. [121317]
§ Jane KennedyThe Lord Chancellor welcomes the Report on Contact between Children and Violent Parents from the Children Act Sub-Committee of the Advisory Board on Family Law. He agreed to make the report available in draft to the Court of Appeal so that it could consider the proposed guidelines in four appeals on this subject which were heard in March and on which judgment has been reserved. Once judgment in those cases has been given, the Lord Chancellor will consider with the President of the Family Division what further action may be necessary. The Family Court Welfare Service is currently the responsibility of the Home Office but I understand that induction for family court welfare officers addresses the issue of domestic violence. As part of the development of the new Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), which will fall within the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department, current training arrangements are being