§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) how many cases of child abuse by parents or guardians allowed unsupervised access by the Family Law Court there have been in each of the last five years; what guidelines are in place for judges to deal with such cases; and if he will make a statement; [45434]
(2) what plans there are to review the guidelines given to the Family Law Court in dealing with access cases for children deemed to be at risk of abuse; and if he will make a statement. [45435]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonInformation about the number of children abused by parents or guardians during court ordered contact is not available. The Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence is considering how to improve the inter-face between the family and criminal jurisdictions to track and record such instances. However, many instances of abuse may go unreported. The "Guidelines on Good Practice in Parental Contact in cases where there has been Domestic Violence", produced by the Children Act Sub-Committee of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Board on Family Law, apply throughout the Family Justice System. The Guidelines, endorsed by the Government in March 2001, are being monitored and are also subject to research on the outcome of court orders for families.
An analysis of the first survey of the use and effectiveness of the Children Act Sub-Committee "Guidelines for Good Practice on Parental Contact in cases where there has been Domestic Violence" was, in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Enfield 839W North, placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 13 March 2002. A further survey on the operation of the Guidelines will be carried out this May.