Chapter 1: The Family Law Act 1996 and the Advisory Board on Family Law
Annexes
D: Monitoring Publicly Funded Mediation. Summary report to the Legal Services Commission
F: The Children Act Sub-Committee's paper on the confidentiality of Court Welfare Officers' Reports
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Philip Dear
Family Policy Division
Lord Chancellor's Department
Third Floor
Southside
105 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QT
Tel: 020 7210 1242
E-mail: Philip Dear
When the Advisory Board was established in 1997 its remit was set at five years. This reflected the fact that, while the Board's terms of reference are fairly broad, its prime purpose was to offer advice on the implementation and operation of the 1996 Act. It was envisaged that by 2002 the entire Act would have been in operation for some time and that the need for specific advice on this issue would have passed.
As successive Annual Reports have made clear, these expectations have not been fulfilled, and in January this year the Lord Chancellor announced his decision to repeal Part II of the Act. While there remains some unfinished business for the Board to address, this will be complete by autumn this year. This will therefore be the Board's last Annual Report.
The decision not to implement Part II of the Act is a considerable disappointment to the Board. As we have consistently reported, our view has been that the Act in the form in which it finally reached the Statute Book was far from perfect. However, we felt that it was "good enough" to put into effect and subsequently refine; and, given the difficulties inherent in introducing new legislation on a topic of this sensitivity, we firmly believed that this course was preferable to an indefinite continuance of the status quo. We have in this Report tried to set down what in our view are the lessons to be drawn from the events that led to the current position and some suggestions for the future, which we feel strongly should be taken forward urgently.
While the primary purpose for which the Board was established has not therefore been delivered, we believe that our work has not been entirely futile. We consider that we have made a useful contribution to the implementation of the other Parts of the Act and to taking forward related topics. The role of the Children Act Sub-Committee in developing policy and filling part of the vacuum left by the abolition of the previous Advisory Committee has, thanks in particular to the efforts of Mr Justice Wall, been significant, and we are glad to note that the new structures being developed will provide an opportunity for this work to continue.
On a personal note, I would like to thank the officials of the Family Policy Division who have provided the Board with secretariat support and departmental advice. Through all the vagaries of policy development they have been unfailingly courteous and helpful. Professors Davis and Walker, the Directors of the two research projects, have been extremely generous with their time and advice. I am also extremely grateful to my colleagues on the Board. As the only member of the Board with no relevant background knowledge in this field, I have been entirely reliant on their expertise, and they have been most patient with me. I have also been greatly impressed by their ability to think and advise independently and corporately, and not as mandated representatives of their particular profession. It has been a very stimulating experience to work with them. I very much hope that this approach can be maintained in the inter-disciplinary structures now being developed.
Sir Thomas Boyd-Carpenter
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