New law will be for the children

By Gemma Hockey

Head of Safeguarder Services Tony Dougan at the opening of its Rue du Manoir offices. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0579790)

CHILDREN will be better represented thanks to new services being introduced in Guernsey.

Safeguarder Services, which is States funded, has been set up to represent the interests of children and young people in public and private legal proceedings under The Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2008, and to provide an advisory service to the courts.

It will also offer conciliation and mediation to people involved in family law proceedings. The man heading the service, Tony Dougan, said the law would officially be enacted in October 2009 but the services were now available to those seeking help.

‘The law will actually reflect the realities of modern-day family life, such as divorce and the impact it has on the children involved.’ He said laws that protect or affect children date back to the 1930s. The new one brings Guernsey into line with the UK’s Protection of Children Act 1999.

Safeguarder Services has three key aims:

to act as a mediator between parents who are separating or divorcing where care of children is an issue
in private law – a court appoints a safeguarder to act solely in the interests of the child when parents are going through legal proceedings with regard to divorce
in public law when requested by the court safeguarders act independently of the States or a department in matters relating to a child’s welfare purely in the interests of the child.

The services is free and are based in Rue du Manoir, St Peter Port, where private consultation and a mediation room are available.

‘The idea is that all these services come together under one roof and we are operating as if the law has been passed,’ said Mr Dougan, who moved to Guernsey in October from Cumbria, where he managed the child and adolescent mental health services.

‘Everybody who works for Safeguarder Services will be trained to mediate and act as a safeguarder when appointed by the court in public and private law.’

He said Guernsey should be proud of the new law.

Article posted on 19th May, 2008 - 1.00pm

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