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Bearing in mind the need to prevent unsuitable persons from acting as childminders as well as to avoid controls which would be so cumbersome or intrusive as to discourage persons from offering childminding services, we propose to empower parents themselves to check the suitability of the childminders they employ. We propose to prohibit a person from acting as a childminder if he or she has been convicted of any specified serious offence which could expose a child to the risk of abuse, or if he or she has committed any act or omission harmful to a child as recorded in the findings of a coroner's inquiry. The childminder can obtain from the Director of Social Welfare a certificate verifying that he or she is not a prohibited person. Parents can thus ask a potential childminder to show them such a certificate to assist them in assessing the suitability of the person to look after their child.
This approach highlights the responsibility which we believe must ultimately rest with parents to check the suitability of the childminder they employ. If these amendments are passed, we shall launch a publicity drive to get this message across clearly and to encourage parents to take full advantage of these new provisions aimed at enhancing their ability to verify that their child is in the care of a suitable minder.
In addition to tightening controls over individual childminders, we are proposing amendments to make it easier for mutual help child care groups to operate. These groups are another useful way of addressing the problem of children being left unattended at home. They can be organised by social welfare agencies, church bodies, women's centres, mutual aid committees and other non-governmental organisations where children are looked after by volunteers and parents on a roster basis in the premises of the organisations concerned. As these groups meet the criterion of being a customary or usual arrangement for the minding of children, the premises concerned fall under the full control of the Ordinance.
In order to encourage the formation of mutual help child care groups, the Bill will exempt the child care centres which they operate from the full provisions of the Ordinance provided they meet certain simplified requirements relating to supervision, structure of the premises and fire precautions.
Last but not least, the Bill also proposes some technical amendments to the Ordinance, for example, to revise the level of penalties for offences to be in line with present day values and to provide for appeals which at present lie to the Governor, to lie instead to the Administrative Appeals Board in future.
Thank you, Mr President.
End