Misery goes on, say dads

Campaigning fathers in Bristol have slammed new government proposals to revise rules governing contact between parents and their children, saying the planned measures would not go far enough. Fathers 4 Justice said Labour's Parenting Plans, designed to help separated couples reach amicable agreements on sharing care of their children, will do nothing to help them gain access to their children.

The plans propose to give judges more sentencing powers when parents break access orders, including voluntary work and compensation to the other parents.

They also include encouraging parents to resolve problems without going to court and allowing parents who do not want to see each other to leave their child in a contact centre so the other parent can collect it.

Fathers 4 Justice have run a high-profile campaign over recent months to highlight the issue of access rights for fathers, with protests being staged at Buckingham Palace, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and a motorway gantry on the M4.

Bristol based Fathers 4 Justice spokesman Jeff Skinner said the plans were "half-hearted". He said: "They (the Government) keep on mentioning these small law changes, but what we need is radical reform, which is what Fathers 4 Justice is all about. These latest changes sound great to the general public, but to the man who has not seen his children for three years it does not mean anything. All the Government is trying to do is silence the crowd and hope the problem will go away. They won't admit this, but this is clearly a reaction to our campaigns over the last year.

"We have raised the profile of the problem, which affects thousands, if not, millions of people and we will not stop campaigning now." Shadow secretary of state Theresa May also said the plans "lacked any teeth".
She said: "I welcome the fact that the Government has recognised that there is a problem with the system but we feel the response is completely inadequate.

"What they are trying to do is just tinker with the current system. This is yet another spin offensive from a Government that is all talk, but fails to solve the problems affecting families. They use the right language, but these proposals do nothing to take people out of the misery of the family justice system." Fathers 4 Justice were angered when the government stopped short of giving parents equal access in a Green Paper published last July.

At present, parents who breach out-of-court orders can be fined, but sanctions are rarely imposed because they are not considered to be in a child's interest.

Fiona Pratt, a solicitor at Bristol-based Burroughs Day law firm and a spokeswoman for the solicitors' family law association Resolution, said tougher sanctions would be welcomed.

She added: "Resolution has a very strong belief that children should have an ongoing relationship with both parents, unless it is not in the interest of the child.

"The courts are not always the best way to resolve problems and Resolution would like to keep as many services out of court as possible. Where a court order is necessary, we believe new powers are needed to make tough penalties and these new sanctions would be a step in the right direction."