Criminal Law On Child Neglect

EDM number 2986 in 2010-12, proposed by Ian Mearns on 19/04/2012.
Categorised under the topics of Children and families and Criminal law.

That this House welcomes Action for Children's campaign to change the criminal law on child neglect; notes that an estimated 1.5 million children are neglected in the UK; further notes that the legal definition of child neglect was enshrined in legislation in 1933 and has not been amended since; is concerned that the law does not sufficiently protect children from harm because it does not include all of the effects of neglect, particularly the emotional harm caused to children; recognises that the law does not help parents understand their responsibilities towards children or seek to prevent harm; is further concerned that current sentencing guidelines seek only to criminalise parents and do not allow for early intervention in the form of parenting educationand support; and calls on the Government to update the criminal law on neglect to ensure that the general public and parents in particular understand the basic needs of children.

This motion has been signed by a total of 28 MPs.