Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 to strengthen legal protections for (a) children and (b) parents fleeing domestic abuse under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The Government is aware of concerns around the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention in situations where there are allegations of domestic abuse.

Published judgments demonstrate that courts in the UK take into account domestic abuse when assessing the grave risk of harm exception under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.

The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as the operational Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague Convention on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, carries out the administrative work required under the Convention; the Central Authority has no role in the assessment of grave risk of harm.

The UK has been leading efforts to consider these issues internationally, including via a Forum held in South Africa last year, part-funded by the Government, and will be taking an active role in the organisation of a second Forum in Brazil later this year.