Dr. Geoffrey Shannon:

We have a number of different statutes dealing with the voice of the child at the moment. We have the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.

The Children and Family Relationships Act introduced section 32 of that Act to provide for hearing the voice of the child. In the Child Care Act, there are sections 25 and 26, while in adoption proceedings, there is section 19 of the Adoption Act 2010. If we consolidated all those provisions into one statute, it would make how the voice of the child is heard much more accessible. It is down to how that is achieved. It is not just a question of providing for the voice of the child, but how it is achieved. The detail of how that is achieved needs to be provided for by statute.