Children and Adoption Bill [Lords]

We have had quite a full debate on, as the Minister says, a diverse selection amendments. I certainly wish to reinforce the points made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Jeremy Wright) that the purpose of new clause 21 in particular is to ensure that a parent who might breach a contact order takes that court order seriously and is fully aware of the consequences of not doing so. We have tried to set down a clear and comprehensible penalty that would be understood by a large number of people. It is a form of sanction; it is not about using time with the children as some form of punishment—I went into all the details of why it should not be seen as such—but it is about using a relevant and proportionate deterrent that can be understood by anyone who might seek to breach a contact order without good reason. The Minister said that the courts already have ample powers to do such things. If they do, they do not use them. That is the point of new clause 21. They do not use contempt of court penalties, other than in a very few cases. Again, incidents of custody being taken away from one parent and awarded to another are few and far between—it is the nuclear option—so many parents think, ““What is the worst that can happen to me?””, and it is not very much. I am mindful, however, that we are approaching the cut-off time for the debates on Report. We still have the important section on mediation to consider, so on the basis that I should like at least my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller) to have a look in on proposing new clause 22 on mediation, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Motion and clause, by leave, withdrawn.