Moves announced today (Wednesday, 20 January) to give grandparents better access to their grandchildren after separation, have been criticised by family lawyers at Withy King Solicitors for not going far enough.
Among the measures announced by Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, was a change to the law which will make it easier for grandparents to apply to the courts for contact with grandchildren they may have been denied access to following the parents’ separation or divorce.
Mark Phillips, a partner in the family law team at Withy King, welcomed the reforms but urged the Government to do more.
“The way the law is currently structured means grandparents who have been denied access to their grandchildren have to go through a two-stage process. They first have to get permission from the Courts to apply for a contact order, and when that is granted, they then have to make their application,” explained Mark. “Under the new law, the process will be simplified and grandparents will no longer have to seek permission, before making their application.
“We will welcome any change which will make it easier for grandparents to re-establish cherished relationships with their grandchildren. We recently acted for two grandparents who were being denied access to their two young grandsons, despite enjoying a very close relationship with them prior to the parents’ divorce. We were able to negotiate with the mother and agree access arrangements, without having to resort to the Courts. On another recent occasion it was necessary to apply to the Courts for a contact order which when granted, enabled the grandparents to see their grandchild one Saturday in every month. This outcome could have been achieved a lot earlier, had the new laws been in place.”
However, Withy King believes the reforms should go further, by recognising the role grandparents play in looking after their grandchildren, often at considerable financial cost to themselves. Mark said: “Many grandparents care for their grandchildren – either part-time while the parents are at work, or full-time when parents are unable to. While the Government is quick to acknowledge the vital role grandparents play, not least of all because they save local authorities millions of pounds every year that they might otherwise have had to spend on foster care or alternative living arrangements, they have yet to announce any measures to ease the financial burden.
“With family issues becoming an increasingly important election battleground, we look forward to seeing whether proposals are announced which make a real difference to grandparents, many of whom are retired and finding it extremely difficult to cope with the costs of raising their grandchildren.”
