Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones says the government is pressing on with its plans to repeal the ‘presumption of parental contact’ to protect more vulnerable children.

The move follows concern that some children have been harmed by their fathers who were given contact rights despite a history of abuse.

The government first raised the issue last October with a statement from the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Baroness Levitt, who said: “The Children Act 1989 states that the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration when determining questions relating to the upbringing of a child.

“The presumption of parental involvement was brought into legislation by the Children and Families Act 2014. It states that, in certain private law proceedings relating to a child, the court should presume that involvement of a parent will further a child’s welfare, unless there is evidence to the contrary. It does not apply in cases in which there is evidence that the involvement of a parent places the child at risk of suffering harm.

“Although the legislation explicitly states that the presumption is rebuttable and that it does not apply in cases where a parent presents a risk of harm to the child, I recognise that it has faced criticism for appearing to reinforce a “pro-contact” culture that prioritises the involvement of both parents in a child’s life over the child’s individual welfare.”

“We believe that repealing the presumption of parental involvement reflects our commitment to ensuring that the welfare of children remains paramount.”

At the time, the government said the change would be made when Parliamentary time allows, which critics said was too open-ended.

Now the justice minister Alex Davies-Jones says the government is committed to repealing the presumption of parental involvement as soon as possible, not just when parliamentary time allows.

She added: ‘Keeping children safe is the overriding priority for the family courts and it is this government’s priority, so our next step will be to repeal the presumption from The Children’s Act 1989, and we will be doing this as soon as possible. We will be bringing forward legislation very soon.”

We shall keep clients informed of developments.

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