Mixed reception for Bill’s contact plans

Children’s charities have welcomed government proposals to give
courts powers to improve and enforce contact arrangements between
children and parents following a separation.

Plans to give judges the authority to direct parents in a
contact case to parenting programmes, and where necessary to
enforce contact orders, were set out in the draft Children
(Contact) and Adoption Bill, published last week.

Baaf Adoption and Fostering chief executive Felicity Collier and
NCH policy director Caroline Abraham backed powers for courts to
impose community service or curfews on parents who breach contact
orders.

Collier said: “Children have to have a relationship with both
parents. It is important to find an effective way of persuading
parents to co-operate. Sadly, they are not always willing to do
this, so some enforcement is required.”

But domestic violence charity Refuge condemned the government’s
plan to enforce curfews and the possible electronic monitoring of
parents. Chief executive Sandra Horley warned that the plans could
put children at risk. “Many of those [women who stop their
ex-partners from seeing their children] are trying to protect them
from violence and harm.”

The bill follows a DfES report last month, which revealed plans
for a greater role for the Children and Family Court Advisory and
Support Service in in-court mediation services.