House of Commons · Westminster Hall
22 January 2025 · 13 other contributors · 4,363 words
Opened by Marie Tidball Lab Penistone and Stocksbridge
Responding minister: Sarah Sackman
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Marie Tidball raised concerns about child arrangements: presumption of parental involvement in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
Dr Tidball asks for urgent reform to prioritise children's welfare in family courts, particularly recognising them as victims in their own right as outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. She calls for strong, joined-up working between Departments to improve child protection.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
The presumption of parental involvement, as legislated in the Children and Families Act 2014, has led to tragic outcomes such as the deaths of Jack and Paul Sykes at the hands of a known domestic abuser. Women’s Aid found evidence of 48 child deaths following permitted contact visits between 1994 and 2015.
She highlighted a case where family courts facilitated economic abuse and re-victimised child victims, agreeing with Dr Tidball that more needs to be done to protect families from this process.
Paying tribute to Claire Throssell MBE, she noted the Ministry of Justice report's findings on disbelief of abuse and acceptance of counter-allegations without scrutiny. She urged for the report’s immediate implementation.
Asked the Minister for advice on how to help constituents experiencing negative outcomes from family court procedures.
Seconding many of the points made by Dr Tidball, she agreed on considering cases of children with special educational needs who cannot express their fears and advocated for stopping presumption of contact in live domestic abuse cases.
Tidball agrees with Fleet's statement and calls for urgent primary legislation and a more tightly drawn definition of domestic abuse towards children. She highlights the need to show leadership by changing the law on presumption of contact.
She agreed that family law court presumptions perpetrate ongoing domestic abuse and sought measures to ensure courts consider continuing abuse in future cases.
Pays tribute to Claire Throssell and calls on the Minister to ensure strong, joined-up working between Departments to improve child protection measures.
Supports Dr Tidball's call for reform and emphasises the importance of supervised visits where there are safety concerns.
Agrees with Dr Tidball and proposes amending Jade’s law to include perpetrators of child sexual abuse in considerations regarding parental involvement.
Calls for a safeguarding review following Sara Sharif's case, questioning the perverse incentives for parental contact that may have contributed to her death.
She emphasised the need for joined-up working with police services to address victims' fears and highlighted a case where a mother was hospitalised due to heart palpitations after an abusive handover of children.
Acknowledged that feedback is crucial, highlighted the pathfinder pilot to reshape and reform the family justice system, and emphasised the Government's commitment to act on findings from reviews.
Highlights that children in cases of domestic abuse should be recognised as victims in their own right, as per the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Government Response
Sarah SackmanThe Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
Sackman acknowledges the importance of protecting vulnerable children and ensuring their welfare is paramount. She explains that under current law, both parents can be involved in a child's life only if it is safe and in the best interests of the child. A review has taken place to address concerns about abuse encompassing financial, emotional, and coercive control.