Reports in today’s papers indicate that, in its response to the Family Justice Review final report to be published on Monday 6 February, the government will set up a ministerial working group tasked with amending legislation (as laid out in the 1989 Children Act) around contact arrangements between children and their parents after separation.
Fiona Weir, chief executive of Gingerbread, commented:
“Gingerbread recognises that, in the vast majority of cases, children in separated families benefit from good quality relationships with both parents after separation. However, it’s vital that courts retain the principle of making decisions based on what is in the best interests of the child in each case. Any move to change the legislation would only result in confusion and risks more, rather than less, litigation. Instead we would like to see more practical support to help parents share caring responsibilities more equally, both within couples and after separation. Legislation is not the way to get more fathers engaged with their children.”
A full statement will be released on Monday when the report is published.
Notes to Editors:
1. The vast majority of separating parents make private arrangements around residence and contact for their children; only 10% go through the courts, and these tend to be the most complex and conflicted cases.
[Non-resident parent contact, Blackwell, A & Dawe, F, ONS, 2003]
2. 71% of children have face-to-face contact with their other parent after separation, the majority of which includes overnight stays.
[I’m not saying it was easy…contact problems in separated families, Peacey, V & Hunt, J, Gingerbread, 2009]
3. The latest court statistics from 2010 show that, out of 95,460 applications for contact made to the courts, only 300 orders were refused.
[Judicial and Court Statistics 2010, Ministry of Justice, 2011]
4. Evidence based on detailed analysis of court files with a contact application showed that:
- Most cases ended with face to face contact. Where they did not this was usually because the applicant withdrew from proceedings.
- Non-resident parents were largely successful in getting direct contact where there had been none and in getting the type of contact sought.
- There was no evidence that non-resident parents as a group are systematically unreasonably treated by the family courts. On the contrary the study shows that the courts start from the position that contact is generally in the interests of the child. [Outcomes of applications to court for contact orders after parental separation or divorce, Hunt, J & Macleod, A, OXFLAP, 2008]
ENDS
Gingerbread press contact: Lucy Abell on 020 7428 5416 or 07881 951 138