Divorced
parents to be given automatic access to children
By Gaby Hinsliff, political editor
The
Observer - Sunday
13th November 2005
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1641556,00.html
Divorced parents
will be given an automatic right to see their children under rebel plans
expected to be forced through the House of Lords this week.
Children's charities have warned that the move, backed by militant fathers'
groups, will put children at risk from violent parents or those seeking
revenge following bitter divorces.
The NSPCC says
29 children have been killed during contact visits to an estranged parent
in the past decade, so courts are already failing to heed their interests.
The welfare of the child should be put before the desires of the parent,
the charity argues.
'Taking contact
for granted undermines the principle that the welfare of the child must
be paramount,' said Mary Marsh, its chief executive.
'The NSPCC believes
that without thorough safety checks and an unambiguous message that
the safety of the child comes first, these proposals will hinder efforts
to ensure the welfare of the child is maintained.'
The row centres
on the Children and Adoption Bill, which goes before the Lords tomorrow.
Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers have tabled amendments creating
an 'automatic presumption of contact' when parents split up. The government
is opposing this, but it is expected to lose when the issue goes to
a vote.
If that happens,
ministers will try to overturn the reform in the Commons, triggering
a conflict between the two chambers.
The fathers'
groups have vowed to pursue their point. Matthew O'Connor of Fathers
4 Justice said only parents who are a proven danger to their children
should be exempt from a presumption in favour of both parents having
access.
'It should be
about maintaining the status quo before separation. In the most forward-thinking
parts of the US, kids are spending one week with mum and one week with
dad,' he said.
The amendments
tabled by Baroness Morris and Lord Howe would require courts to act
on the presumption 'that a child's welfare is best served through residence
with his parents and, if his parents are not living together, through
sole residence with one parent or shared residence with both of them,
and through both of them being as fully and equally involved in his
parenting as possible.'
Ministers fear
this creates a presumption of contact, and opens the door to parents
sharing custody equally. 'We have taken legal advice and these amendments
all give a court an assumption of contact,' said a senior source at
the Department for Education and Skills. 'What's best for the child
should be the overriding principle.'
In the past
two years alone, 10 children have been killed by parents on access visits.
Keith Young gassed his four young sons in his car in Cheshire in 2003
after his estranged partner Samantha started another relationship. Young,
38, forced her to listen on his mobile as the boys succumbed to carbon
monoxide poisoning, telling her it was her fault they were dying.
