The End of the Presumption of Contact

The Children Act 1989 makes the presumption that it is in the best interest of a child to have contact with both parents.  This is no longer set to be the case.

Claire Throssell is a mother who has campaigned for this change for more than a decade after her children were killed by their father 11 years ago by starting a house fire.  The father had been abusive and was granted access to both boys, with unsupervised contact by the Court despite Claire producing evidence that the father had threatened to kill the children and himself previously.  There was clear evidence that the 14 separate fires had been started deliberately and to punish Claire.

Many practitioners have welcomed this change stating that contact have been prioritised over safety which has led to those that are vulnerable at risk of continued abuse and can be extremely harmful to children physically, mentally and emotionally.  Claire also welcomes the change.

There are also plans to automatically restrict parental responsibility for perpetrators who have been convicted of a serious sexual offence against a child, and for a child who is born as a result of rape.

Other practitioners say there needs to be a balance of the presumption of contact as on the flip side of these changes, you have parents who may be falsely accused of abuse and children who are then deprived of contact between both parents.

The question is to what extent should this presumption be repealed.