Mr. David French:

When listing the people who may be able to say something, the child should not be forgotten. It is not necessarily a primary school child. The child could be 16. I could name a specific case where the child is 16 and is well capable of having views of their own. They might be eight years old and have clear views. I know my nephews have clear views and they are not 16. There is a need to look at the best interests of the child. The child absolutely should not be shielded completely from this. They know what has happened and have been explained that mummy is not coming back. What they want next does not necessarily need to pass through a whole bunch of filters. They can be just asked, literally, "Do you want this person to be your guardian?". They are children; they will probably give fairly clear answers.