Member

The noble Lord, Lord Farmer, speaking to his Amendment 18, made a strong case—clearly demonstrated with the effective cases that he identified—on the need for family network and connection, as did the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, on the significance of family. The Government agree that maintaining family contact is vital. This is a general principle that applies to all children in care, regardless of whether their placement followed the family group decision-making process. The Children Act already places a duty on local authorities to promote contact between children in care and their parents, relatives or others connected with them, and to keep these arrangements under regular review. This amendment would not strengthen that duty nor change the existing rights of children in care to maintain contact with their families. I think we have heard noble Lords’ views that, in the guidance that we provide on this and in all the messages that we send out to the system, we must be completely clear about the importance of maintaining family contact.