The Government have introduced a new bill to Parliament, the Victims and Courts Bill, which proposes to make changes to criminal courts in England and Wales. The bill also includes provision for family proceedings.
What does the Victims and Courts Bill contain?
One of the main elements of the Victims and Courts Bill is that it would provide new powers for judges to punish offenders who refuse to attend sentencing hearings and face the victims of their crimes.
The bill also gives additional powers for the Victims’ Commissioner and establishing a new Victim Helpline to aid access to information for victims about offenders’ release.
What are the Implications for Family Proceedings?
The bill proposes to add a provision into section 10 of the Children Act 1989 imposing a duty upon the Court to make a Prohibited Steps Order where a party has been sentenced for over 4 years for committing a sexual offence against a child for whom they have parental responsibility for. Under this bill, the Court would be compelled to make the Prohibited Steps Order unless it is not in the ‘interests of justice’ to do so.
What effect would a Prohibited Steps Order have?
The Prohibited Steps Order would essentially restrict the offender’s Parental Responsibility so that they would require the prior consent of the High Court or Family Court before making any decision about the child. This would mean that the convicted parent would be restricted in making decisions such as those concerning the child’s education, change of name, medical treatments etc.
The bill makes clear that such an Order would last indefinitely until the Court varies or discharges it. Therefore, it is likely that the Order will be in place throughout the entirety of the Family Court proceedings.
Where such an Order is made, the exercise of the offending parent’s Parental Responsibility will be restricted for all children for whom they have Parental Responsibility for, not just solely the child who is the victim of their offence.
Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the bill is that the Prohibited Steps Order will continue to have effect even if the offender is acquitted of the criminal offence against the child. This means that the offending parent would still be prevented from making decision about the child even where the criminal proceedings have finished and they have been found not guilty of the crime.
Why is the Government Introducing this?
The Government website states that “Predatory parents will be prevented from actively taking steps in the child’s life, including requesting updates about the child’s schooling or seeking to interfere with their activities, better enabling the family to move forwards with their lives”.
It is clear that the Parental Responsibility restrictions proposed in the Victims and Courts Bill constitutes a notable shift towards the Family Court taking a more rigorous approach to parents who are accused of inflicting sexual abuse upon their own children.
The bill is currently making its way through the House of Commons. Although it still has a long way to go before it is enacted into law, and indeed may well yet go through a number of revisions before that point, this bill is likely to have a notable impact on family proceedings in future.
Link: Victims and Courts Bill – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament
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