The Joint Committee invites interested organisations and individuals to submit written evidence as part of its inquiry into the Draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill. Submissions, reflecting the guidance on written evidence given in this press notice, should reach the Committee as soon as possible and must be submitted by Thursday 3 March 2005 at the latest. The earlier written evidence is submitted the easier it will be for the Committee to consider it.

Scope of the Committee's inquiry

The Joint Committee expects to concentrate its inquiry on the following themes:

(1)  Whether the proposed contact provisions, including enforcement, are appropriate and proportionate.

(2)  Whether the proposed contact provisions, including enforcement, are workable.

(3)  Whether the proposed contact provisions, including enforcement, are sufficient.

(4)  Whether the proposed adoption provisions are necessary, workable and proportionate.

(5)  Whether the draft Bill's proposed outcomes could be achieved through better means.

The Committee cannot investigate individual cases.

Written Evidence

All written evidence should be submitted to the Joint Committee no later than Thursday 3 March 2005. Given the limited time available for the submission of evidence and for the completion of the Committee's work, written evidence should be short and should concentrate on the major issues arising from the draft Bill. Please draft your comments in order of how the clauses appear in the draft Bill. Witnesses should feel free to cover only those aspects of the draft Bill in which they are particularly interested.

Written evidence should contain, if appropriate, a brief introduction to the persons or organisations submitting it. Submissions should take the form of a memorandum and should have numbered paragraphs. Submissions should not exceed 1500 words in length. Unless submissions are very short, they should be accompanied by a summary. Submissions may be accompanied by background material (perhaps already published elsewhere), which will not be reprinted by the Joint Committee.

We wish to receive written evidence, if possible, in MS Word or rich text format, by e-mail to ccabill@parliament.uk. A single hard copy (single-sided, unbound) should also be sent to Scrutiny Unit, House of Commons SW1A 0AA. If you would find it difficult to submit evidence in this way, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss alternatives.

10 February 2005