Overview
- The government said it will repeal the Children Act provision that steers courts to presume contact with both parents is usually in a child’s best interests.
- The Ministry of Justice offered no schedule for the change, saying it will proceed when parliamentary time allows.
- Officials say removing the presumption should enable quicker decisions to restrict the involvement of abusive parents.
- A recent report for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner found courts often maintained contact, including unsupervised overnights, even where domestic abuse was present.
- Campaigner Claire Throssell met the Prime Minister ahead of the announcement, and the government also proposed Victims and Courts Bill measures to automatically curb parental responsibility for certain sexual offenders.