The government will look into a legal presumption embedded in legislation which says both parents must be involved in a child’s life whenever possible after separation or divorce.

The decision to review the presumption comes after several children in England and Wales were killed by domestically abusive or violent parents, following family court ordered contact despite opposition from the ‘protecting’ parent.

The review will examine the way the courts have been applying the presumption and the impact on children when decisions to enforce the presumption have been made.

A written statement announcing the review made by Under-Secretary for Justice Alex Chalk MP, in the House of Commons yesterday, offers more information about what data the review team will be collecting, and details about the Advisory Group for the project.

The Group currently has eight members:

  • Rachel Thomas, Welsh Children’s Commissioner’s Office
  • Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner
  • Peter Jackson LJ
  • HHJ Michelle Corbett
  • Jacky Tiotto, CEO Cafcass
  • Matthew Pinnell, Cafcass Cymru
  • Tammy Knox, Resolution
  • Michael Lewkowicz, Families Need Fathers

Chalk said, “This is an important, and complex, issue and this approach is intended to identify whether any reforms are needed in this area, and if so, what kind (legislative or otherwise), and to ensure that any conclusions and recommendations are rooted in a solid understanding of the effect of the presumption and its exception, and the evidence base surrounding its application.”

The Ministry of Justice will now be launching a tender process to identify the most appropriate individuals to conduct the evidence review.

Completion of the review and an update on its findings is scheduled for next Summer.

The full statement can be accessed in the above link, or read below:

Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement

Statement made on 9 November 2020

Statement UIN HCWS562

Statement made by

Alex ChalkThe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for JusticeConservativeCheltenham Commons

Statement

“On the 25th June 2020, the Government published the Final Report on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, alongside an Implementation Plan. The Report contained a number of recommendations from a Panel that included external experts, and the Implementation Plan set out how the Government proposed to address the recommendations.

One of the recommendations made by the Panel was “that the presumption of parental involvement be reviewed urgently in order to address its detrimental effects.”

I am pleased to announce the commencement of a review into the presumption of parental involvement in child arrangements, and certain other private law children, proceedings. This review will focus on the application of the presumption and the statutory exception in cases where there are allegations or other evidence to suggest that involvement of the parent would put the child at risk of harm.

The Review will focus both on the courts’ application of the presumption, as well as on the impact on children’s welfare of the courts’ application of these provisions. In particular, the Review will examine:

(i) how courts are applying sections 1(2A), (2B) and (6) of the Children Act 1989, which together require courts to presume, in child arrangements and certain other private law children proceedings, that involvement of a parent in the child’s life will further the child’s welfare, unless there is evidence to suggest that involvement of that parent would put the child at risk of suffering harm, and to define involvement as ‘involvement of some kind, either direct or indirect, but not any particular division of a child’s time’;

(ii) and the impacts on children’s welfare of the courts’ application of these provisions

This is an important, and complex, issue and this approach is intended to identify whether any reforms are needed in this area, and if so, what kind (legislative or otherwise), and to ensure that any conclusions and recommendations are rooted in a solid understanding of the effect of the presumption and its exception, and the evidence base surrounding its application.

I am establishing an Advisory Group to guide the evidence gathering for this important Review. The Advisory Group members will be:

  • Rachel Thomas, Welsh Children’s Commissioner’s Office
  • Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner
  • Peter Jackson LJ
  • HHJ Michelle Corbett
  • Jacky Tiotto, CEO Cafcass
  • Matthew Pinnell, Cafcass Cymru
  • Tammy Knox, Resolution
  • Michael Lewkowicz, Families Need Fathers

The evidence that this Review will gather will include a case file review, input from those working in the family courts and an academic literature review of how the presumption is currently applied and the impact of parental involvement on the wellbeing of the child.

The Ministry of Justice will follow a competitive tender process to identify the most appropriate individuals to conduct the evidence review.

I anticipate being able to update the House before summer recess with the outcomes of the Review.”