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The Government has announced that they are going to repeal the presumption of parental involvement in the Children Act 1989.
Currently, the Children Act contains a presumption that parental involvement with both parents will further the child's welfare, although this presumption can be rebutted. Under the Children Act, the welfare of the child is paramount.
Findings of the Review
The Review of Presumption of Parental Involvement (The Review) has been looking at how this has been applied in practice. This follows campaigns from Claire Throssell, whose children Jack and Paul were tragically killed by their abusive father 11 years ago, and is supported by Women's Aid.
The Review noted that where a parent posed a risk to a child, or had caused harm to child previously, the child's welfare was not always supported by parental involvement. In the cases looked at by the Review, they noted that even where there were risk factors, or harm caused to a child, orders were still being made for direct contact between the child and that parent. They noted a court practice of facilitating involvement of both parents in a child's life. In practice, even when children are having supervised contact with a parent, judges expect to see a gradual increase in contact where appropriate.
The Review notes that evidence shows that always prioritising contact with both parents, can actually put children at harm and perpetrate abuse. It found that cases with no contact were extremely rare, even where there have been allegations of abuse.
The Justice Minister confirmed:
“The horrors of domestic abuse can scar a child for life. It is apparent from our research that the presumption of parental involvement can, in some cases, lead to contact being ordered even in cases where there has been domestic abuse. Our priority must always be children's welfare. Being a parent is a privilege not a right: the only right which matters is a child's right to safety and this government is determined to ensure that that is at the heart of every decision made about each and every child.”
Impact on Family Court Practice
Having a presumption that parental involvement is best for the child's welfare puts the emphasis on the other parent to evidence that this should be rebutted. Now that this presumption is going to be repealed, all parties and judges will need to consider whether spending time with a parent will further the child's welfare. In practice, with the presumption, the focus is on how the child should spend time with that parent, rather than if the child should spend time with that parent.
This may lead to a real shift in how the child's welfare is considered in the family court system, once this section is repealed.
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