People should be appointed to boards related to child protection through a public call, not by the family minister, according to PN spokesman Robert Cutajar.

Mr Cutajar was reacting to the Child Protection and Alternative Care Bill which started being discussed in Parliament this week.

A draft of the long-awaited Act had been presented in 2014 by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, then family minister. The Bill was held and amended, with experts voicing concern about lack of consultation.

Mr Cutajar noted that the Bill has been on the Parliament’s agenda for more than 800 days and the Opposition had called on the government to launch consultation and discuss it urgently.

He insisted that the Child Protection Act should be underlined by the core value of the welfare of the children. While the fresh proposals removed the need for a minister to sign the issuance of a care order, the minister would have the power to choose those sitting on boards and others who are entrusted with specific roles, Mr Cutajar noted.

This was not acceptable, as such people should be elected through public calls, he added.

Referring to the Central Authority (which handles adoptions), Mr Cutajar said it needed consolidation in a bid to resolve serious shortfalls that make prospective adoptive parents suffer.

He also noted that the new law needed to guarantee permanency about the children’s future in the shortest possible time.

Meanwhile resources and training for social workers and foster carers needed to be strengthened, he said, urging more autonomy for social professionals and respect for foster parents.

On fostering, Mr Cutajar said that sudden, ad hoc visits as proposed in the act reflected the opposite. Such visits should be carried out before carers are given the go ahead to foster children. Mr Cutajar, who said the Bill lacked state obligations, called for a consultation process throughout summer in a bid to address its shortfalls.

This would ensure that when the draft was finally approved, it would properly reflect the interests of children.

The Opposition recognised that there were positive proposals within the Bill, however if passed as is with its shortfalls, the law would only see small, cosmetic changes, he added.

Yesterday, Parliament approved the act at second reading. Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said the lack of mapping of services available for all aspects of care for children and minors should be addressed.

Shadow social minister Paula Mifsud Bonnici described the proposed act as positive – however she said government should consider the introduction of fostering leave and care plans for children in care, as this would add stability in the lives of foster children.