The government began consultation on proposals to clarify and modify the law on disclosure of information relating to family proceedings cases involving children. The proposals were designed to make it easier for appropriate public and voluntary sector organizations, as well as MPs and government departments, to provide support to the families involved.
Source: Disclosure of Information in Family Proceedings Cases Involving Children, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DCA press release
Date: 2004-Dec
An article said that the demand (by fathers' rights groups, for example) for pure equality between mothers and fathers ignored entirely the experiences of children who had lived in equal shares arrangements for many years, and reduced children to passive objects with no voice. Rather than pushing the principles of family law back towards 'simplistic' notions of equality, what was needed was a policy based on recognition rather than rights.
Source: Carol Smart, 'Equal shares: rights for fathers or recognition for children?', Critical Social Policy, Volume 24 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Nov
A new book recorded the views and experiences of children and young people whose parents had divorced. They discussed a range of issues, including residence and contact; money; personal difficulties; and friendship.
Source: Bren Neale and Jen Flowerdew, Parent Problems 2: Looking back on our parents' divorce, Young Voice (fax: 020 8979 2952)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Nov
A report called for legal changes to make pre-marital agreements binding, unless upholding an agreement would cause significant injustice.
Source: A More Certain Future: Recognition of pre-marital agreements in England and Wales, Solicitors Family Law Association (01689 850227)
Links: SFLA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals aimed at improving the way family court cases were managed. Under new costs rules in relation to ancillary relief proceedings (the part of divorce cases resolving financial issues between divorcing couples), the court would not make an order for costs unless one of the parties had been found to have behaved unreasonably.
Source: Costs in Ancillary Relief Proceedings and Appeals in Family Proceedings, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DCA press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A briefing paper set out the key facts about parental separation and the issues for children, drawing on the latest research and on official government statistics.
Source: Stuck in the Middle: Parental separation and the issues for children, NCH (0845 762 6579)
Links: Link removed
Date: 2004-Sep
A study explored the views of non-resident fathers in separated Scottish families, to develop an understanding of their experience and role as co-parents. Particular issues explored were the quality of inter-parental and father-child relationships in co-parenting families, and the use made by fathers of separated family services.
Source: Graeme Wilson, John Gillies and Gillian Mayes, Fathers as Co-Parents: How non-resident fathers construe family situations, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Sep
The government published a summary of responses to a consultation paper (published in 2002) on proposals to create an overarching body to co-ordinate interdisciplinary committee work throughout the family justice system in England and Wales.
Source: Summary of Responses to the Consultation Paper: Promoting Inter-agency Working in the Family Justice System, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Responses (pdf) | Consultation document
Date: 2004-Aug
Divorces rose by 3.9 per cent in England and Wales, to a total of 153,490 in 2003, from 147,735 in 2002. This was the third successive annual increase, and was the highest annual number of divorces since 1996.
Source: Press release 31 August 2004, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
The government published a Green Paper on proposals to create a better family justice system for separating parents and their children. It set out a range of measures, including better information for parents, parenting plans to help parents make good arrangements, in-court conciliation and mediation for those parents who did go to court, active judicial management and stronger powers for judges to enforce court orders. The government rejected the idea of giving divorced parents equal access to their children in all cases.
Source: Parental Separation: Children's needs and parents' responsibilities, Green Paper Cm 6273, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500), Department for Education and Skills, and Department of Trade and Industry | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 21 July 2004, columns 33-35WS, TSO
Links: Green Paper (pdf) | Hansard | DCA press release | CAFCASS press release (pdf) | NCH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
The Family Justice Council was established, to advise on how the family justice system could be improved. The Council was made up of 19 members representing professionals, academics and users, together with 10 ex-officio members from government departments and agencies.
Source: Press release 1 July 2004, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: DCA press release | CAFCASS press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
A report on family breakdown said that there should be a presumption, enshrined in law, that children should have an ongoing relationship with both parents unless this would not be in their best interests.
Source: Practical Steps to Co-parenting, Solicitors Family Law Association (01689 850227)
Links: SFLA press release
Date: 2004-Jun
An inspectorate report said that local authorities and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service needed to work more closely together to improve the family court system.
Source: Towards Year Three: CAFCASS overview report, HM Magistrate's Courts Service Inspectorate (020 7217 4344)
Links: Report (pdf) | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Apr
A report examined the value of providing information to divorcing couples on the help and support available to them. Nearly 1 in 5 couples seriously considering divorce stayed together after being given counselling and information.
Source: Newcastle Centre for Family Studies, Picking up the Pieces: Marriage and divorce two years after information provision, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Apr
A report reviewed child contact centre provision in Scotland (centres provided by the voluntary sector as neutral, safe environments where contact can continue between a child and a non-resident parent). Most of the contact centres service provision comprised supported (low vigilance) contact. Just over half of staff (57 per cent) had been asked to provide supervised (high vigilance) contact, and 31 per cent had actually provided supervised contact. A second report described the expectations and experiences of key stakeholder groups (including parents) involved with the centres.
Source: Louyse McConnell-Trevillion and Samantha Coope, with Emily Postan and Louise Lane, Scottish Child Contact Centres: Characteristics of Centre Users and Centre Staff, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566) | Kerry Sproston and Kandy Woodfield, with Kay Tisdall, Building Bridges? Expectations and experiences of child contact centres in Scotland, Scottish Executive, TSO
Links: Report (1) | Report (2)
Date: 2004-Mar
A report summarised the findings of a collection of research projects on what helped parents and children through the stress of family separation.
Source: Mavis Maclean, Together and Apart: Children and parents experiencing separation and divorce, Foundations 314, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: JRF Foundations 314
Date: 2004-Mar
The government responded to the detailed recommendations of an advisory group which considered how best to protect the interests of children involved in family legal proceedings. It announced new 'family resolution pilots' (in inner London, Brighton and Sunderland) to divert families from lengthy court cases by helping them agree practical solutions between themselves; an additional 3.5 million for child contact services, including the funding of 14 new supervised contact centres; and the introduction of new forms to ensure that judges were aware of any accusations or instances of domestic violence at the start of contact cases. A group representing fathers described the government's response as a 'hollow sham'.
Source: The Government's Response to the Children's Act Sub-Committee Report 'Making Contact Work', Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500) and Department for Education and Skills | Press release 19 March 2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288) | Press release 20 March 2004, Fathers4Justice
Links: Report (pdf) | DfES press release | Fathers4Justice website | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2004-Mar
The results were published of an official survey commissioned to assess the levels of contact between children and non-resident parents. 14 per cent of non-resident parents reported that they never saw their children, whereas 28 per cent of resident parents said that the non-resident parent never saw the child.
Source: Alison Blackwell and Fiona Dawe, Non-Resident Parental Contact: Final report, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (Word file)
Date: 2004-Mar
There were 254,400 marriages in England and Wales in 2002, an increase of 2 per cent from 249,227 in 2001. This increase followed the lowest annual number of marriages seen since 1897 in 2001.
Source: Press release 12 February 2004, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
Researchers challenged the assumption that the many changes which could follow divorce were necessarily detrimental to the children and young people concerned.
Source: Bren Neale, Jennifer Flowerdew, Carol Smart and Amanda Wade, Enduring Families?: Children's long term reflections on post divorce family life, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | ESRC press release
Date: 2004-Feb