Coalition government’s plans for families and children
Earlier today, the Government issued its programme for partnership government over the next five years. Amongst other policy aspirations, The Coalition: our programme for government, outlines plans for families and children.
There an encouragement of shared parenting, flexible parental leave, funding for relationship support and a ‘review of family law in order to increase the use of mediation when couples do break up, and to look at how best to provide greater access rights to non-resident parents and grandparents.’
It feels like a step in the right direction, but an emphasis on mediation (which sounds great but has a poor track record) and the use of the word ‘access’ (which is both offensive to may parents and legally incorrect) suggests that the work of educating ministers and civil servants is far from complete.
But, as I said, it does feel like there is a difference in the wind and we can, perhaps, look forward to a policy environment that don’t see fathers as optional extras who can be tolerated so long as they pay child maintenance and do as they’re told.
Well, here are four policy initiatives that I would like the Government to consider over the next five years:
Support and information should be available to both parents in ways that promote cooperation:
The ‘lone parent’ model that underpins the support to separated and separating parents in the United Kingdom means that support and information services are delivered to one parent but exclude the other.
All support and information services should recognise and value the ongoing input of both parents, acknowledge and respond to the different needs and different experiences of mothers and fathers and be available to both parents in order to support them in building new post separation relationships that are based on the changing needs of their children.
The parenting responsibilities of both parents should be reflected in the tax and benefits system:
Currently, a recognition of parenthood through the tax and benefits system is only available in one household after family separation. This fails to recognise the parenting patterns that a family has agreed and sends a powerful message that the input of one parent is valued more highly than that of the other.
Financial support, through things such as Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit should be available to both parents to reflect their ongoing parenting responsibilities.
The income of both parents should be taken into account in the statutory maintenance scheme:
Parents who are unable or who do not wish to make a private child maintenance arrangement may use the statutory scheme. However, the current and proposed future scheme divides parents into the Parent With Care (PWC) who receives payment from the Non Resident Parent (NRP). No account of the PWC’s income is taken into account when a calculation is being made and only a limited account is taken of the amount of parenting that the NRP is responsible for.
The income of both parents should be taken into account when statutory maintenance calculations are being made and the parenting time that each parent provides should be properly reflected in the distribution of maintenance.
The concepts of care and contact should be removed from family law:
Parents who divorce or separate are usually able to agree how each will offer parenting input without recourse to the courts. However, those who require the assistance of the legal system to make arrangements encounter a process that offers one parent ‘residence’ of their children and the other ‘contact’ with their children. This division is divisive, generally artificial and makes cooperative parenting arrangements less achievable.
The input of both parents should be equally recognised and, irrespective of the parenting time arrangements that are established, both parents should be supported to have meaningful parenting relationships with their children.
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Coalition government’s plans for families and children
20/05/2010 Leave a comment
Earlier today, the Government issued its programme for partnership government over the next five years. Amongst other policy aspirations, The Coalition: our programme for government, outlines plans for families and children.
There an encouragement of shared parenting, flexible parental leave, funding for relationship support and a ‘review of family law in order to increase the use of mediation when couples do break up, and to look at how best to provide greater access rights to non-resident parents and grandparents.’
It feels like a step in the right direction, but an emphasis on mediation (which sounds great but has a poor track record) and the use of the word ‘access’ (which is both offensive to may parents and legally incorrect) suggests that the work of educating ministers and civil servants is far from complete.
But, as I said, it does feel like there is a difference in the wind and we can, perhaps, look forward to a policy environment that don’t see fathers as optional extras who can be tolerated so long as they pay child maintenance and do as they’re told.
Well, here are four policy initiatives that I would like the Government to consider over the next five years:
Support and information should be available to both parents in ways that promote cooperation:
The ‘lone parent’ model that underpins the support to separated and separating parents in the United Kingdom means that support and information services are delivered to one parent but exclude the other.
All support and information services should recognise and value the ongoing input of both parents, acknowledge and respond to the different needs and different experiences of mothers and fathers and be available to both parents in order to support them in building new post separation relationships that are based on the changing needs of their children.
The parenting responsibilities of both parents should be reflected in the tax and benefits system:
Currently, a recognition of parenthood through the tax and benefits system is only available in one household after family separation. This fails to recognise the parenting patterns that a family has agreed and sends a powerful message that the input of one parent is valued more highly than that of the other.
Financial support, through things such as Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit should be available to both parents to reflect their ongoing parenting responsibilities.
The income of both parents should be taken into account in the statutory maintenance scheme:
Parents who are unable or who do not wish to make a private child maintenance arrangement may use the statutory scheme. However, the current and proposed future scheme divides parents into the Parent With Care (PWC) who receives payment from the Non Resident Parent (NRP). No account of the PWC’s income is taken into account when a calculation is being made and only a limited account is taken of the amount of parenting that the NRP is responsible for.
The income of both parents should be taken into account when statutory maintenance calculations are being made and the parenting time that each parent provides should be properly reflected in the distribution of maintenance.
The concepts of care and contact should be removed from family law:
Parents who divorce or separate are usually able to agree how each will offer parenting input without recourse to the courts. However, those who require the assistance of the legal system to make arrangements encounter a process that offers one parent ‘residence’ of their children and the other ‘contact’ with their children. This division is divisive, generally artificial and makes cooperative parenting arrangements less achievable.
The input of both parents should be equally recognised and, irrespective of the parenting time arrangements that are established, both parents should be supported to have meaningful parenting relationships with their children.
Like this:
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