November 08, 2011
An official report on the family justice system has recommended that all decisions on the care of children are made within 6 months, amidst what it calls the “shocking delays” currently experienced.
The report, by former senior civil servant David Norgrove, highlights the average time taken for decisions on child custody as currently being 61 weeks. The report calls this figure “not acceptable.”
A government spokesman confirmed that the 6-month recommendation would be adopted, saying: "It is vital we radically reform the family justice system to tackle delay and improve the service to children.”
"We know the amount of time it takes for a child to be adopted is unacceptable. We are already taking forward some of the review's recommendations on speeding up care cases.”
However the report also came under fire for failing to recommend that fathers’ rights to equal access to children are enshrined in law. Ken Sanderson, of the Families Need Fathers campaign, said: "The core failing of the current family justice system is that the rights of children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, are not adequately supported or enforced.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Norgrove responded to this criticism: "Fundamentally, this is not about the rights of parents, it's about the welfare of children and we should be focused entirely on that.
"The evidence from other countries, particularly Australia, is that if you put that kind of requirement into legislation, it leads to damage to children because you put them right in the middle of those last few per cent of parents who are separating who get into really violent dispute."
