Fathers lose bid for equal custody rights after review of family law
November 02 2011
Fathers’ hopes of securing equal rights over their children
will be dashed tomorrow when a review of family law is published.
Plans
to give parents equal rights to share custody of their children in the event of
a split have been rejected by the Family Justice Review, led by former civil
servant and businessman David Norgrove. In a further blow to fathers’ rights
campaigners, the Norgrove Report will also reject calls to enshrine in law the
principle that children should have a ‘meaningful relationship’ with both their
mother and father.
Instead, it will simply say the courts should keep
the idea of a meaningful relationship with an absentee father in mind when they
make decisions about a child’s future. The report was rejected as a ‘slap in the
face for fathers’ last night and will undermine David Cameron’s claims that he
would speak up for a strong family life. Sources familiar with the report said
Mr Norgrove had rejected statutory protection for men because it was likely to
lead to lengthy legal battles to define a meaningful relationship. In his
interim report earlier this year, Mr Norgrove concluded the state of the family
courts was ‘shocking’ and that disputes take ‘far too long’ to resolve.
He also rejected plans for parents to share custody 50-50 after seeing evidence
that the system does not work in countries where it has operated such as
Australia. A senior government source said: ‘The panel found that shared custody
on an equal footing led to lengthy delays in the courts which are not in the
interests of the child. ‘They have also rejected the halfway house of statutory
recognition for the need to maintain a meaningful relationship on the basis that
the courts would spend ages deciding how to define a meaningful relationship.’
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