Speeches by Sackman.

“Government amendments 72 to 96 are minor and incredibly technical in nature. I really hope we do not spend too long debating them, otherwise I may struggle, although I am sure that the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle will find a way. The amendments make minor and technical changes to the delegation arrangements set …”

“I am grateful to all the Members who have spoken for the points they have raised. Without repeating myself, they have focused on a number of areas. The first is the concern around access to justice under the new process. We had a good debate on the question of the availability of legal aid in an earlier sitting. As I h…”

“I will say two things to that. Obviously, that report—as is typical from the Law Commission—is non-partisan, but it predates the reforms we are proposing in the Bill, which will inevitably increase the volume of cases we are talking about. It goes back to the point that, where we have finite resources, if the permissio…”

“I welcome the support from Members across the Committee for clause 10. A proper evidential basis is defined in the Bill as ensuring that there is material before the court that shows both that the complainant made the previous allegation and that the previous allegation was false. I do not want to elaborate on the test…”

“We now come to a series of clauses that deal with what happens during the course of trials and the use of special measures—the architecture, so to speak, of what takes place to ensure fairness for all participants. Clause 12 makes an important clarification to the operation of screens in our criminal courts. At present…”

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“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…”

“I am very happy to provide that information, to the extent that we hold it. Question put and agreed to. Clause 15 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 16 Application of special measures to victim personal statements etc Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“The clause makes it clear in legislation that special measures are available when a victim chooses to read their victim impact statement aloud at sentencing. This is a moment of real significance for many victims—the point at which they are able to explain, in their own words, the impact of the offending on their lives…”

“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…”

“I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. I will set out the rationale for clause 17 and then address the central argument presented by Opposition Members about the repeal of the presumption —the Government do not overclaim for it; is not a silver bullet for the problems and challenges of child protection in th…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Obviously, we have appeal systems and, in some family proceedings, the nature of them can be iterative; as family circumstances and the facts change, it might be that there are provisions in directions to come back and relitigate some of those child arrangements. In other cases, t…”

“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…”

“There is only one Old Bailey, and as a result of clause 20, there will only ever be one Old Bailey. I invite all members of the Committee to join together on a group tour of the new facility in Salisbury Square when it opens, hopefully in a year’s time. Question put and agreed to. Clause 20 accordingly ordered to stand…”

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“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…”

“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…”

“I will begin by addressing clause 18 and schedule 3 together before moving to Government amendments 72 to 96. Clause 18 makes significant reforms to the leadership of tribunals, a change strongly supported by the senior judiciary. This is a key step in the One Judiciary programme, which was set up to achieve the long-s…”

“Amendment 56 concerns appellants who were originally dealt with by way of a mental health disposal without being convicted, on the basis that they were suffering from a mental disorder that justified that disposal. The findings leading to the mental health disposal can be appealed against as if they were a conviction, …”

“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…”