Presumption that parental contact is best to end in family courts | UK News

Family court law will be changed so it is no longer based on the idea that contact with both parents is usually in a child’s best interest, the government has said

New evidence shows that assuming it is always best for a child to have both parents involved in their life can perpetuate abuse, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

It is not known when the law will change, but the move has been welcomed by domestic abuse charities.

The move follows campaigning by Claire Throssell, whose sons Jack, 12, and Paul, nine, were killed by their father in a house fire he started 11 years ago this week in Yorkshire.

He had been allowed to spend time with his children, despite previous threats to kill them and himself.

Currently, the law presumes contact with both parents is usually in the best interests of a child, with safeguards to restrict involvement where it is detrimental to a child’s welfare.

But the government says it will now repeal that law under the 1989 Children Act which should lead to quicker decisions to restrict contact with abusive parents.

Ms Throssell, who is an ambassador for the charity Women’s Aid, said successive governments had failed children by standing by the “outdated presumption” that contact with both parents was in their best interest.

While it does not feel like a “win”, she said the change “will save so many children’s lives”.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Women’s Hour, alongside a photograph of her boys that she brought into the studio, Ms Throssell said she had made a promise to her son Paul as he lay dying in her arms more than a decade ago. She met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday, who said he would deliver on it.

She told the programme: “I’ve waited 11 years, I don’t want to wait 11 more.

“Let’s be honest, for 30 years the family courts have let down children, have failed to protect them, have failed to see, hear, believe and support them. They mustn’t be allowed to fail them for 30 more. I hope it goes through as quickly as possible next year.”

Praising Ms Throssell’s “relentless advocacy for children’s safety”, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “As we mark this important step forward in the law, I pay tribute to her sons, Jack and Paul, whose memory drives our commitment to ensuring no other child suffers a similar fate.”

The MoJ said it will legislate to repeal the presumption of parental involvement when parliamentary time allows.

Farah Nazeer, Women’s Aid chief executive, said the organisation “warmly welcomes” the move.

She said: “Changes to the presumption are an important first step but with the existing ‘pro-contact’ culture being deep-rooted in the family courts, comprehensive action needs to be taken to overturn these dangerous attitudes and beliefs that are putting lives at risk.”

Earlier this week the government also announced plans to automatically restrict parental responsibility for rapists whose crimes resulted in the birth of a child and parents who committed serious sex offences against any children.

The MoJ said the plans were a crucial part of the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.