The Government have introduced a new bill to Parliament, the Victims and Courts Bill, which proposes to make changes to criminal courts in England and Wales. The bill also includes provision for family proceedings.
One of the main elements of the Victims and Courts Bill is that it would provide new powers for judges to punish offenders who refuse to attend sentencing hearings and face the victims of their crimes.
The bill also gives additional powers for the Victims’ Commissioner and establishing a new Victim Helpline to aid access to information for victims about offenders’ release.
The bill proposes to add a provision into section 10 of the Children Act 1989 imposing a duty upon the Court to make a Prohibited Steps Order where a party has been sentenced for over 4 years for committing a sexual offence against a child for whom they have parental responsibility for. Under this bill, the Court would be compelled to make the Prohibited Steps Order unless it is not in the ‘interests of justice’ to do so.
The Prohibited Steps Order would essentially restrict the offender’s Parental Responsibility so that they would require the prior consent of the High Court or Family Court before making any decision about the child. This would mean that the convicted parent would be restricted in making decisions such as those concerning the child’s education, change of name, medical treatments etc.