Speeches by Sackman.

“One a real step forward, which touches on some of the other themes we have talked about today, is greater transparency in our family courts. For good reason, lots of family proceedings are held in private to protect the identities of those participating in them, but we are seeing more and more transparency in our famil…”

“As with the previous debate, I will set out the rationale for clause 9 and then turn to the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris). Clause 9 will create a high admissibility threshold for evidence about a complainant’s compensation claims in sexual offence prosecutions. That could…”

“We think that changing the structure of the decision-making process such that it does not start with that presumption will lead to improvements in outcomes. It is not the only thing; of course it is not. The hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle made an interesting suggestion about structured reasoning through the welfare…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a fair point. I have no doubt that, not just in the context of this clause—where we are talking about family law—but more generally in other conversations that we have had around the criminal justice system, the Judicial Office and judicial leadership will be following these proceedings qui…”

“Adjourned till Tuesday 28 April at twenty-five minutes past Nine o’clock.”

“It is context specific, which is exactly why we have a study: to test the level of accuracy. Accuracy is really important; we do not want a lot of judicial time to be taken up reviewing the accuracy of transcripts before they can be put out. That would not be a good use of judge time, which should be spent running tria…”

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“The family justice strategy, which will be forthcoming in July, will address a lot of what the hon. Member asks for. It will set out where the Government think reform is needed, and it will bring together what we are already doing with our child-focused courts programme, which is accompanied by a £17 million investment…”

“Written evidence reported to the House”

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“We now come to a series of clauses that deal with what happens during the course of trials and the use of special measures—the architecture, so to speak, of what takes place to ensure fairness for all participants. Clause 12 makes an important clarification to the operation of screens in our criminal courts. At present…”

“We always say that the loss of one life is one too many. If any of these changes saves one life, they will have been worth making. With that in mind, I commend clause 17 to the Committee.”

“I welcome the support from Members across the Committee for clause 10. A proper evidential basis is defined in the Bill as ensuring that there is material before the court that shows both that the complainant made the previous allegation and that the previous allegation was false. I do not want to elaborate on the test…”

“I am very happy to provide that information, to the extent that we hold it. Question put and agreed to. Clause 15 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 16 Application of special measures to victim personal statements etc Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“The decision making will not be perfect and will not prevent every death, which goes to some of our earlier exchanges. Unfortunately, although it is the job of state institutions to keep children safe, there are some pretty evil people out there; the very people who should be keeping these children safe can do some awf…”

“Government amendments 72 to 96 are minor and incredibly technical in nature. I really hope we do not spend too long debating them, otherwise I may struggle, although I am sure that the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle will find a way. The amendments make minor and technical changes to the delegation arrangements set …”

“I will touch briefly on parental alienation, which is a concern raised in a number of speeches. The Government do not recognise parental alienation as a syndrome capable of diagnosis—sometimes it is talked about in those terms. I think we can all agree that the family court should consider a child’s wishes and feelings…”

“I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. I will set out the rationale for clause 17 and then address the central argument presented by Opposition Members about the repeal of the presumption —the Government do not overclaim for it; is not a silver bullet for the problems and challenges of child protection in th…”

“As I have said, the Children Act firmly enshrines the principle that the welfare of children must always be the family courts’ paramount concern when making a decision about a child’s life, so there is a slight concern about how we go about legislating in this area. Additionally, the Family Justice Council has publishe…”

“The clause makes it clear in legislation that special measures are available when a victim chooses to read their victim impact statement aloud at sentencing. This is a moment of real significance for many victims—the point at which they are able to explain, in their own words, the impact of the offending on their lives…”