We come to amendment No. 108 in the name of the Minister which has been discussed already with amendment No. 85.
SECTION 19.
I move amendment No. 108:
In page 12, line 18, to delete ", having regard to the provisions of section 15".
We dealt with this amendment when discussing amendments Nos. 85 and 110. This is a minor technical amendment required to make way for the new section on the welfare of the child which is to be inserted by amendment No. 110. The reference in section 19 to the provisions of section 15 was meant to refer to section 15 (2) which, in turn, has been deleted to make way for amendment No. 110. Hence, the cross-reference here to section 15 is no longer required.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 109 in the name of the Minister. We have already discussed this with amendment No. 95.
I move amendment No. 109:
In page 12, lines 20 and 21, to delete paragraph (b) and substitute the following:
"(b) vary or discharge any condition or direction attaching to the order, or".
This is a minor technical change consequential on acceptance of amendment No. 95. The existing paragraph (b) of section 19 enables the court to vary or discharge any condition or direction affecting the child who is the subject of a care order, a supervision order or an access order. This needs to be changed as a result of the insertion of the new subsection (3) in section 16. The new subsection (3) enables a parent — who is dissatisfied with the way a health board is implementing a supervision order — to apply to the court and enables the court to give such directions as it sees fit as to how the order is to be operated. In order to ensure that the provisions of section 19 will apply to this type of direction it is necessary that the reference to "affecting the child" be deleted, and that the paragraph simply provides that the court may vary or discharge any condition or direction attaching to the order.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 19, as amended, agreed to.
NEW SECTION.
Amendment No. 110 in the name of the Minister. This is a new section which has already been discussed with amendment No. 85.
I move amendment No. 110:
In page 12, before section 20, to insert the following new section:
"PART V
JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE
20.—In any proceedings before a court under this Act in relation to the care and protection of a child, the court, having regard to the rights and duties of parents, whether under the Constitution or otherwise, shall—
(a) regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration, and
(b) in so far as is practicable, give due consideration, having regard to his age and understanding, to the wishes of the child.".
Amendment agreed to.