How UK Parliament can help separating families
20 May 2024: A UK All-Party Parliamentary Group has today published its comprehensive report for the UK Parliament on family separation based on up-to-date evidence from 16 experts earlier this year.
The report shows what politicians can, and need to, do to change the way the country helps separating families, remedying the well-known limitations, costs and harms inherent in the present family law approach. Especially when they do not promote the welfare of the children.
The cards seem to be stacked against the parents right from the start. There is no central place for them to go to get help at the start of their separation journey. Some support groups seem to polarise the situation. Too many parents end up in the Family Court with no idea what they have let themselves in for. Some whose income relies on the process have little incentive to move [changes] forward at pace. A central problem seems to be that what is essentially a relationship problem is treated as though it were simply a legal one. The connection with the legal profession means that even the language used in the process is dehumanising and polarising.
Nick Fletcher, Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Family Separation, 2024
