According to reports in the press the government is planning to introduce legislation which will overhaul the approach to parental contact upon divorce. Since 1991 the default position has been that there is no automatic right to contact or to shared parenting. The current basis of the law is that parents do not have any rights as such when it comes to contact and residence. Rather, it is what is in the child’s best interests which must be taken into account. Whilst there is a presumption that a child’s interests are served by having an ongoing relationship with both parents, there is no presumption in favour of shared care or what form contact should take.
The government appointed David Norgrove to conduct a family justice review in 2010. The final report was delivered in November 2011. It rejected the idea that there should be a change to the law to insert a presumption of shared parenting. However, the government appears to have rejected that conclusion and is now set to legislate.
In practice, will such a change make that much difference? Shared parenting does not necessarily mean that a child spends equal amounts of time with each parent. What is a court to do where one parent makes serious allegations about the other? Does it allow contact to continue until the allegations are proven? That would seem to be a potentially dangerous approach and I would suggest that in reality the court will adopt a similar approach as it does at present, ensuring that a child is protected until a full investigation can be carried out.
It is, of course, early days but the indication is that the government is determined to push this through. Personally, I think it is too early to say what impact this will have. It may well help to push home the message that children should have relationships with both parents. However, each family’s circumstances are different and there is no “one size fits all approach”. Arrangements which are right for one set of parents will not be appropriate for another. Work and personal commitments vary as do the needs of a child so I cannot see a prescriptive approach working.
The family justice system continues to struggle with a large caseload and substantial delays in the preparation of reports and in bringing cases to a conclusion. Not until these issues are addressed are we likely to see any real change in the public’s perception of the process.
If you would like more information on the above contact our childrens solicitor team at Myers Lister Price Solicitors on 0161 926 9969 or email info@mlpsolicitors.co.uk
