Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Bill [HL]

I had no intention of speaking this afternoon because I came in just to support all that the Minister is going to say, but I rise again because of the comments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Park, in relation to young boys or girls who are taken away from school. It would be difficult to monitor young people going to visit their relatives, attending funerals or weddings, or going on holiday. To issue guidance just for people of a different colour or from a different culture would be wrong. On the experience of the noble Lord, Lord Lester, in Derby, I can assure the noble Lord that my noble friend Lady Uddin and I, along with the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, and many other distinguished Members of the Committee went around the country and created a huge debate. We gave the community a lot of information, including saying that forced marriage is wrong. Ministers such as Mike O’Brien and others used phrases like, ““Forced marriage is wrong, and cultural sensitivities are no excuse for moral blindness. One forced marriage is one too many””. We repeated that message. As a result, I was greeted with tomatoes in Sheffield. It is a difficult issue, and that is why raising awareness and having this debate within communities is so important. That is how we will get the message across, not by legislating against young people leaving school and taking a plane to wherever they want to go.