ABSTRACT
The Children Act 1989 represents the culmination of a process of review and reflection undertaken over a four year period from 1985. The Law Commission produced working papers on Guardianship, Custody, Care, Supervision and Interim Orders in Custody Proceedings and Wards of Court, in addition to the Report No 172 entitled Review of Child Law: Guardianship and Custody, in 1988. Lord Mackay of Clashfern LC used the following words when opening the debate in the House of Lords on the second reading of the Children Bill, which subsequently became the Children Act 1989:
‘The Bill in my view represents the most comprehensive and far-reaching reform of child law which has come before parliament in living memory. It brings together the public and private law concerning the care, protection and upbringing of children and the provision of services to them and their families.’
