Editing Michael Berkeley (section)

==Membership of the House of Lords==
[[File:Official portrait of Lord Berkeley of Knighton crop 2, 2019.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Official parliamentary portrait, 2019]]

In February 2013, it was announced that he would be made a [[life peer]] and enter the [[House of Lords]] as a [[crossbencher]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2013/february/lords-new-peers/| title = House of Lords, official website – New peers announced|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom| access-date = 27 February 2013}}</ref> and on 26 March 2013 he was created Baron Berkeley of Knighton, of [[Knighton, Powys|Knighton]] in the County of [[Powys]].<ref>{{London Gazette | issue=60462 |date=28 March 2013 |page=6195}}</ref>

In 2018 Michael Berkeley successfully instigated and steered through the House of Lords an Amendment to the [[Children Act 1989]]. This corrected an oversight in the law that meant that, while the Family Court could issue a Care Order for a child at risk of forced marriage or from a habitually drunk and violent father, it could not issue an Order for a child at risk of [[Female Genital Mutilation]]. The bill received unanimous backing in the House of Lords but, on reaching the House of Commons, where it was sponsored by [[Zac Goldsmith]], it was twice objected to by [[Christopher Chope]]. This led to national outrage, and several cabinet ministers condemned Chope's actions. Subsequently, first the Home Secretary and then the Prime Minister told parliament that they would find Government time for the Bill, which finally received Royal Assent on 15 March 2019.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/08/tory-mp-who-blocked-upskirting-bill-halts-fgm-protection-law-christopher-chope | title = Tory MP who blocked upskirting bill halts FGM protection law | newspaper = The Guardian | date = 8 February 2019 | access-date = 3 April 2019 | last1 = Walker | first1 = Peter }}</ref> Berkeley has consistently spoken in support of music and music education.