Contact Orders

Annette Brooke
To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice when she plans to bring into force those sections of the Children and Adoption Act 2006 which provide for more sanctions to be available to the courts when a contact order is not complied with.

Ms Harman
The Government expect that provisions in Part 1 of the Children and Adoption Act 2006 in relation to family assistance orders and risk assessments will be implemented from October 2007. The timetable for the implementation of the remaining provisions of part 1 of the Act, including the provisions relating to enforcement of contact orders, is currently under consideration. The Government will be making a written ministerial statement shortly outlining the timetable for implementation of the remaining provisions in Part 1 of the Act.