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Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Dominic Grieve (Conservative), on Tuesday, 16 December 2003, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 192 members in total.

PARENTING TIME PRESUMPTION

That this House believes that separated parents should each have a legal presumption of contact with their children, so that both parents can continue to parent their children and that any children are able to benefit from being parented by both their parents, as well as from contact with any grandparents and extended family members able and willing to play a role in their upbringing; and urges the Government to replace the legal term 'contact' with 'parenting time' and to ensure that parenting time orders can be and are made and enforced by the courts, save where a child's safety would be at risk.

Amendments

The Early day motion has received 2 amendments.

299A1A1
Line 2, leave out from 'believes' to end and add 'that contact and parenting are issues of children's rights and parental responsibility; notes that Article 9 (3) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out that 'state parties shall respect the rights of the Child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis except if it is contrary to the child's best interests; deplores those family court judgements which have ignored the wishes and feelings of children and endangered them by insisting on contact with violent men and Schedule 1 offenders; and calls on the Government to amend the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [Lords] to introduce a rebuttable presumption that children should not have contact with perpetrators of child abuse or domestic violence unless they want it and such parenting time can be made safe.'
299A1
Line 7, at end add 'believes however that such a legal presumption should not exist if either parent has a history of domestic violence; and further believes that the wishes of children should be paramount in such cases.'

Secondary information

Type
Early day motion
Reference
299 
299A1A1 
299A1 
Session
2003-04
Subjects
Access Children Custody Divorce Parents Parental responsibility
Link
View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk