Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

My Lords, the principle on which we are acting in this matter is the same as that on which we have acted in every other matter that we have discussed in relation to the Bill, which is that the interests of the child should be paramount. Although the number of children about whom we are talking in this area is tiny—in the dozens per year—they nevertheless demand our full consideration, and I do not think that the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, need apologise in any way for taking up the time of the House in setting out her case. I could simply repeat the argument that I made in Grand Committee, that is, the Government’s inclination in response to this amendment. However, since the noble Baroness has set out an extremely detailed case that considers a number of cases arising from the Acts of 1976 and 2002, and issues relating specifically to relatives of those people who have been adopted, the most constructive reply that I can make is that I will study with care what she has said in that regard. Without prejudice at all to that consideration, because I do not want to give a misleading impression from the Dispatch Box, I will consider what she has said and discuss it with my honourable friend Maria Eagle, who has policy responsibility for it. It may be that the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, Maria Eagle and I can meet to discuss the matter to see whether we can address some of the concerns that the noble Baroness has raised. I say that without prejudice, because our concern in this matter is to ensure that the interests of the child are protected. It is a requirement of the 2002 Act that before applications can be made for orders under Section 84, the prospective adopters and the children must have shared their home for 10 weeks. That is an absolute requirement under the Act and one that seems to us eminently reasonable in relation to issues concerning child protection. We should need to be convinced that any change, even in respect of relatives, gave us absolutely robust protection in cases where children had been taken out of the jurisdiction and concerns were then raised at a later stage. With the important rider that I cannot give any undertaking that we will change our policy, I will look at this matter further, I will draw it to the attention of my honourable friend and I will consider whether we can meet some of the noble Baroness’s concerns.