Speeches by Sackman.

“Written evidence reported to the House”

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“CTB 36 Fair Hearing”

“The amendments also make a range of consequential amendments to other legislation arising from these reforms. These are generally about deployments or the selection of adjudicators for a range of statutory purposes, such as the provision allowing the Lady Chief Justice to approve deployments to the mental health review…”

“Clause 20 concerns the statutory title “Central Criminal Court”, which has been on the statute book since 1834 and refers, in practice, to the Old Bailey. Under existing legislation, the title applies to the Crown court sitting within the City of London. Historically, the only Crown court located within the City has be…”

“Clause 13 introduces an important new special measure, which will make a real and tangible difference to vulnerable or intimidated witnesses who come before our courts. It enables them to be accompanied by a supporter when giving evidence to reassure them and help them to give their best evidence. Crucially, it creates…”

“As I have said, the Children Act firmly enshrines the principle that the welfare of children must always be the family courts’ paramount concern when making a decision about a child’s life, so there is a slight concern about how we go about legislating in this area. Additionally, the Family Justice Council has publishe…”

“That is why I come back to the merits of the welfare checklist, in the context of clause 17, which removes the presumption. It is important that we refocus on the welfare of the child and listen intently to what they may be trying to say, informed through the lens of how trauma-informed evidence is given and a clear-ey…”

“I will touch briefly on parental alienation, which is a concern raised in a number of speeches. The Government do not recognise parental alienation as a syndrome capable of diagnosis—sometimes it is talked about in those terms. I think we can all agree that the family court should consider a child’s wishes and feelings…”

“The decision making will not be perfect and will not prevent every death, which goes to some of our earlier exchanges. Unfortunately, although it is the job of state institutions to keep children safe, there are some pretty evil people out there; the very people who should be keeping these children safe can do some awf…”

“The family courts already operate within a strong statutory framework in which a child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. Judges are equipped with the training to consider domestic abuse, the nature and severity of harm, and the reasons behind any relocation, without needing a presumption that may constrain that…”

“Our wider reforms, including the national roll-out of child-focused courts, are designed precisely to ensure that courts identify and respond to harm effectively in cases of domestic abuse, including cases where a parent has already relocated or is considering relocation. Under this model, specialist domestic abuse sup…”

“Importantly, this reformed model places the child’s voice at the centre of proceedings. One feature is that, at the very beginning of the case, the court orders a child impact report that incorporates information from relevant agencies and, where appropriate, direct engagement with the child. In cases involving relocat…”

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“The welfare of children must always be the family courts’ paramount concern when they make decisions about a child’s life. That principle is enshrined in the Children Act 1989. The Family Justice Council has published guidance on this issue, which has been endorsed by the president of the family division. That guidance…”

“Recent case law demonstrates that the family courts are already grappling with these considerations. In the case of Re Y, the president of the family division made it clear that the court should establish the facts of a case, particularly regarding whether domestic abuse has occurred, prior to considering any expert op…”

“New clause 20 seeks to establish a presumption that, where domestic abuse is found, the court should not consider allegations by the perpetrator that the victim parent has undermined their relationship with the child. This new clause has a very noble aim. The Government agree that the court must take into account a chi…”

“New clause 16 seeks to introduce a rebuttable presumption that a parent’s relocation with a child, when based on documented evidence from a relevant authority or support service in the context of domestic abuse, is reasonable and in the child’s best interests unless the contrary is shown. I thank the hon. Member for Ch…”

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“Appeals from magistrates’ courts”