Dr Marie Tidball

Dr Marie Tidball

Labour — Penistone and Stocksbridge

Speaking in the House of Commons on 22 January 2025

Debate

Child Arrangements: Presumption of Parental Involvement

Contribution

I do agree, and those factors have a cumulative, additive effect on those young people, silencing their voices even more so than those of other victims. That is one of the reasons why the harm report was clear that “the presumption should not remain in its present form” and recommended that it be reviewed “urgently in order to address its detrimental effects.” Today we are focusing on presumption of contact, but there is much more that could be done to make the family court system child-centric. We can be bolder by changing the language in the Children Act 1989 to say explicitly that a presumption of contact should not be given to a known domestically abusive parent. Further, protections could be strengthened by incorporating practice direction 12J in primary legislation. We also need to ensure that no interim contact takes place before assessments are fully completed by CAFCASS. Additionally, we must legally recognise children as victims of financial abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Shockingly, there is currently no definition of rape or consent in the family court system.

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