Family Justice

: May I start by thanking the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith), the Chair of the Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs, for his work and for the work that the Committee has done on family justice? Without the work of the Committee, it would be difficult for us to find our way forward. I say this not as a platitude, but the Committee's work in this area is essential and without it progress would be incredibly difficult to achieve, not just because this is an area where a lot of professional issues need to be picked through. In a way, that is the fodder for all Select Committees and all Departments. However, this is, possibly uniquely, an area of intense emotional personal conflict, which all of us as Members of Parliament, and our constituents, are engaged with. When such things happen to families, they are passionately and intensely emotionally concerned, and at a high level of conflict. That feeds into an acrimonious public debate, with accusation and counter-accusation about how the system is working. That being the situation, what is needed, and what we are fortunate in having in the Select Committee, is a place where such issues are brought together on a cross-party basis and where light can be shed without heat, but with commitment and expertise. Although it is for us as the Government to take responsibility for CAFCASS, the courts and what the courts do operationally, and although we are responsible for bringing legislation to the House, in that highly conflicted atmosphere, the way that the Constitutional Affairs Committee deals with family justice issues gives us an opportunity to make progress that we would not otherwise be able to make. I want to thank the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed for the work of the Committee as I turn to the report that we are discussing. I shall focus my comments on the four issues that the right hon. Gentleman raised, which are highlighted in the report: openness, enforcement, judicial continuity and delay.