Call for Evidence

Aim of the Inquiry

The House of Lords Select Committee on the Children and Families Act 2014 was appointed on 19 January 2022 “to consider the Children and Families Act 2014”. It must agree a report by the end of November 2022. The Government has undertaken to respond in writing to select committee reports, usually within two months of publication.

The Committee invites written contributions by Monday 25 April 2022.

The Committee expects to hear from invited contributors in public evidence sessions from March to September 2022 inclusive.

Background

Post-legislative scrutiny is undertaken by a select committee of the House of Lords to assess what effect an Act of Parliament has had in practice. It is an important element of the House’s work to check and challenge the work of the Government. The first post-legislative scrutiny committee, on adoption law, was appointed in May 2012. Subsequent committees have considered mental capacity, extradition, equality and disability, the natural environment and rural communities, licensing and bribery. This committee will consider the Children and Families Act 2014.

The central question for this committee is whether the Children and Families Act 2014 has achieved its aim of improving the lives of children and families, particularly the most vulnerable children and young people in society.

The Children and Families Act 2014 is wide-ranging. It made several changes to the adoption system, most of which were designed to streamline the process, making it easier for adoptions to happen, whilst ensuring child safety and welfare (Part 1). It made major reforms to children and young people’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services which were designed to bring about greater integration and personalisation of services (Part 3). The Act also introduced provisions relating to family justice (Part 2) which sought to make the system faster, simpler and less adversarial. It made reforms to the registering of childcare agencies (Part 4) and extended the remit and powers of the Children’s Commissioner (Part 6). It introduced a range of provisions aimed at advancing child welfare including greater support for young carers and parent carers and the introduction of free school meals for students in reception years one and two (Part 5). The Act also made changes to working rights to leave and pay, introducing shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay and extending the right to request flexible working (Parts 7 and 9).

Since the Act was brought into force the number of adoptions reached a peak in 2015, but have been falling steadily since. In 2021, the number of children under local authority care who were adopted had fallen 46%. The number of children leaving care through a special guardianship order overtook the number of adoptions in 2019.[2] A special guardianship order places a child or young person with someone other than their parent(s) on a long-term basis. In the family justice system, between July and September 2021, only 24% of care proceedings were disposed of within the 26-week limit set by the Act.

The Act has an impact on the lives of a great number of children and families, often significantly. It affects the education and care children and young people receive, can determine how family separation takes place, how those in care navigate and exit the system, what support is given to families, and how they are represented in central government.

There has been no holistic post-legislative scrutiny of the Children and Families Act 2014, although the House of Commons Education Committee undertook scrutiny of Part 3 of the Act on special educational needs and disabilities,and the National Audit Office produced a report on support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in England. In light of this work, and considering the absence of in-depth scrutiny on the adoption and family justice elements of the Act, the Committee will consider all elements of the Act in some detail, with a particular focus on the adoption and family justice elements.

Questions

This is a public call for written evidence to be submitted to the Committee. The Committee is happy to receive submissions on any issues related to the Act, but would particularly welcome submissions on the questions listed below. Contributors need not address every question and experts are encouraged to focus on their specialism. Other issues may be discussed provided that their relevance is explained. Submissions which have been previously published will not be accepted as evidence. However, published material may be referenced where relevant.

The Committee encourages people from all backgrounds to contribute and believes that it is particularly important to hear from groups which are often under-represented, including children and young people themselves. The Committee’s work is most effective when it is informed by as diverse a range of perspectives and experiences as possible. Please pass this on to others who may be interested in contributing.

Instructions on how to submit evidence are set out at the end of this document. If you have any queries please email the staff of the Committee at hlchildfamilyactcomm@parliament.uk.

1. To what extent has the Act improved the situation for the most vulnerable children, young people and families in England? To the extent that it has not, is this because of the Act itself, its implementation, or challenges which subsequently emerged, whether lasting or temporary?
2. If there were to be a Children and Families Act 2022, what should it include and what might be the barriers to implementation?
3. Is the Act enabling faster, more secure and stable adoptions which are in the best interests of the child?
   • What has been the effect of provisions on fostering to adopt?
   • What has been the effect of the repeal of the requirement to consider ethnicity, religion, race, culture and language in England when placing a child for adoption? Are any further legislative or other measures needed to address disparities?
   • What effect has the suspension of the Adoption and Children Act register had on the matching process?
   • Are families receiving the right information, budgets and support to assist them post-adoption?
4. Have the reforms to the family justice system succeeded in making the system faster, simpler and less adversarial? How has the Act interacted with other reforms to the family justice system, for example the changes to legal aid?
   • Does the 26-week limit on care and placement proceedings strike the correct balance between justice and speed?
   • How well have the limitations on expert evidence served children in the family justice system?
   • What has been the effect of the requirement to consider mediation?
   • How has the presumption of the involvement of both parents in the life of the child after family separation affected proceedings?
5. Has the Act achieved its goal of improving provision for children and young people with SEND, in all settings including mainstream schools, special schools and further education colleges? If changes are needed, could they be achieved under the framework of the Children and Families Act 2014 or is new legislation required?
6. Have the reforms to childcare agencies and childcare provision introduced by the Act improved the quality and availability of childcare? Are the reforms introduced by Part 5 of the Act sufficient to safeguard the welfare of children?
7. Does the Children’s Commissioner have the correct remit and powers? Are the correct accountability structures in place to ensure they discharge their duties effectively?
8. Is the system of shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay functioning adequately? Is the system of flexible working functioning adequately? In light of the changes to working styles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, what changes, if any, are needed to provisions in the Act on flexible working?

The Committee is also interested in undertaking visits to meet children and families and those supporting them. If you would like to recommend a place or organisation for the Committee to visit, or your organisation would be interested in hosting a visit from the Committee, please contact staff at hlchildfamilyactcomm@parliament.uk.

The Committee encourages interested parties to follow the progress of the inquiry on Twitter @HLChildrenAct and at: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/581/children-and-families-act-2014-committee/

ANNEX: GUIDANCE FOR SUBMISSIONS

The deadline for making a written submission is 23.59 on Monday 25 April 2022.

Concise submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. All submissions made through the written submission form will be acknowledged automatically by email.

Submissions which are accepted by the Committee as written evidence may be published online at any stage. When it is published as written evidence a submission becomes subject to parliamentary copyright and is protected by parliamentary privilege. Submissions which have been previously published will not be accepted as evidence.

Once your submission has been accepted as evidence you will be notified by a further email, and at this point you may publicise or publish it yourself. In doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the Committee, and you should be aware that your publication or re-publication of your evidence may not be protected by parliamentary privilege.

Personal contact details will be removed from evidence before publication, but will be retained by the Committee Office and may used for specific purposes relating to the committee’s work—for instance to seek additional information.

The Committee may invite individuals and groups who have submitted written evidence, as well as others, to answer questions in a public session in Westminster. They are broadcast online and transcripts are also taken and published.

Substantive communications to the Committee about the inquiry should be addressed to the clerk of the committee, whether or not they are intended to constitute a formal written submission.

This is a public call for evidence. Please bring it to the attention of other groups and individuals who may not have received a copy directly.

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome. If you think someone you know would have an interest in contributing to the inquiry, please pass this on to them.

[1] Department for Education, ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions [accessed 24 January 2022]

[2] CoramBAAF, ‘Statistics on Special Guardianship’: https://corambaaf.org.uk/practice-areas/kinship-care/special-guardianship/statistics-special-guardianship [accessed 22 February 2022]

[3] Ministry of Justice, ‘Family Court Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2021’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2021/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2021 [accessed 24 January 2021]

[4] Education Committee, Special educational needs and disabilities (First Report, Session 2019-2021, HC 20)

[5] National Audit Office, Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in England (Session 2017-2019, HC 2636)