UK Government moves towards prioritising child safety over parental contact

Children could be better protected from abusive parents under major changes to family law being introduced by the Government through the new Courts and Tribunal Bill.

The proposed legislation will remove the long-standing ‘presumption of parental involvement’ from the Children Act 1989, marking a significant shift in how courts make decisions about children following parental separation.
The move has been welcomed by child welfare advocates and follows relentless campaigning by Claire Throssell, whose two sons, Jack, 12, and Paul, 9, were tragically killed by their father in 2014 after he was granted contact by the family court.

Various reviews have have found that the presumption of both parents being involved in their child’s life has led to situations where unsupervised or overnight contact is granted by the courts, despite history of domestic abuse. The Government says the reform is designed to ensure that children's safety and welfare remain the priority in every family court decision.

What Is Changing?

Under the proposed changes, judges will no longer begin with the assumption that involvement from both parents is automatically in a child's best interests. Instead, each case will be assessed individually, with courts taking an open-minded approach focused entirely on the child's welfare and safety.

Where a parent is considered a risk, courts will still have powers to restrict involvement - This could include supervised contact, written communication only, or, in the most serious cases, no contact at all. When courts are faced with making such decisions, the Government says the reform will send a clear message to the courts that child safety must come first, before assumptions about parental rights or their involvement.

Putting Children's Safety First

The change is rooted in the principle that every child deserves to grow up safe and protected. If the change to the law is approved by Parliament, the presumption of parental involvement will be formally removed from the Children Act 1989.

If passed by Parliament, the change will represent one of the most significant child protection reforms to family law in recent years, placing the welfare and safety of children at the centre of every court decision.