Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Grandparents: Statutory Right to Access

Tuesday 16 May 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Caroline Dinenage asked about the merits of giving grandchildren a statutory right to access their grandparents after a divorce or bereavement.
  • The Minister acknowledged the importance of grandparents in children's lives and noted that the welfare of the child is the court's primary consideration.
  • Dinenage inquired about further actions the Department could take to ensure grandchildren's access to their grandparents and whether the UK should establish an older persons commissioner.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Caroline Dinenage Con Gosport
Children & Families
Context

The question arises from the impact of divorce or bereavement on family relationships, particularly focusing on the role of grandparents in children's lives. The MP highlights that current legal processes can be costly and often ineffective.

Question

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving grandchildren a statutory right to access their grandparents following a divorce or bereavement. I thank the Minister for his answer but we know that the bond with a grandparent can be one of the most precious relationships in a child's life, yet so often in the adult wars of family breakdown children are a weapon and actions by grandparents through the family court are often incredibly expensive and frequently fruitless.

Answer from Mike Freer

We recognise that grandparents often play an important role in children's lives and can provide stability in families following divorce or bereavement. However, when making any decision about a child's upbringing the court's paramount consideration must be the welfare of the child based on the individual facts of the case, and given the importance of considering each case on its individual merits neither adults nor children have a statutory right of access. My hon. Friend might want to take up the question of an older persons commissioner with the Prime Minister because I suspect that is well above my pay grade. On access for grandparents, I will double-check this but am pretty sure that we recently extended the ability to get legal aid to special guardianship orders, which may well be accessible for grandparents to secure rights of access.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific statutory right requested was not addressed directly; instead, the Minister highlighted the importance of individual welfare considerations and mentioned recent extensions to legal aid for special guardianship orders without a concrete commitment.

How: My Hon. Friend Might Want To Take Up The Question Of An Older Persons Commissioner With The Prime Minister Because I Suspect That Is Well Above My Pay Grade.

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Q2 Caroline Dinenage Con Gosport
Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Context

The question stems from the ongoing debate about family breakdown and its effects on children's relationships with their grandparents. The MP raises concerns over high costs and ineffectiveness in current legal frameworks.

Question

What more can the Department do to give grandchildren that right to see their grandparents, and is it not about time we followed the example of Scotland, which has an older persons Minister, and Northern Ireland and Wales, which have older persons commissioners, to take up such issues?

Answer from Mike Freer

My hon. Friend might want to take up the question of an older persons commissioner with the Prime Minister because I suspect that is well above my pay grade. On access for grandparents, I will double-check this but am pretty sure that we recently extended the ability to get legal aid to special guardianship orders, which may well be accessible for grandparents to secure rights of access.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request regarding an older persons commissioner was not addressed directly; instead, the Minister mentioned recent extensions to legal aid without a concrete commitment.

How: My Hon. Friend Might Want To Take Up The Question Of An Older Persons Commissioner With The Prime Minister Because I Suspect That Is Well Above My Pay Grade.

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