MEASURES to force divorced parents to obey court orders giving access to children could include the electronic tagging of mothers.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer today confirmed it was part of government's plans to improve the handling of access to children, but said that he thought it might be "disproportionate."
Community sentences are being considered to ensure that both parents obey the court order and this could include curfews, he said, insisting that a mother had to be in when the father was coming round to pick up the children.
"One of the greatest areas of dispute is when arrangements are made and broken. We will let the courts impose orders and the mother could, for instance, do unpaid work on a Saturday when the father is having contact with the children," said Lord Falconer.
The government's plans, to be launched by Lord Falconer and Education Secretary Ruth Kelly today include new ways of encouraging parents to agree their own solutions, but Lord Falconer said they had ruled out compulsory mediation.
"If you make mediation compulsory many people would go into it with the wrong attitude. We're making mediation more available and if it doesn't work the case will be brought before the court.
"But if you make it compulsory you could end up making people very resentful," he said.
The Lord Chancellor also rejected calls for parents to get 50-50 access to children, which has angered fathers groups who say their rights are often denied.
"Young children have to go to school and need to stay in the same beds Monday to Friday. We want both parents to be involved in the best interests of the child, and each case is different," he added.
The Conservative spokesman on the family Theresa May said there were problems with the present system but she felt the proposals the government were bringing forward, and which will be incorporated in new laws in two weeks time, were inadequate.
"The government is trying to paper over the cracks of the current system. What we need is a radical reform of the way the family courts operate in relation to access to children when parents are divorced or separated."
The group, Fathers 4 Justice says that the government's plans do not go far enough but ministers insist that children cannot simply be divided up like property when a marriage collapses.
Do you agree with the scheme? Have your say.
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A,, Manchester (18/01/2005 at 13:04)
Su, Manchester (18/01/2005 at 13:05)
Mary, London (18/01/2005 at 13:06)
Hard Working Mum, Stockport (18/01/2005 at 18:09)
I just hope one day they can see him for the low life he is & that our 6 year old son takes after his step father rather than his biological father.
I appreciate that some mothers try to make life as difficult as possible for their childrens fathers but were not all like that. I believe that children should come to their own conclusion about their parents, however good or bad they are. What goes around comes around
A rather disgruntled mother.
Mrs Marie E L Barltrop, Eastbourne (21/01/2005 at 09:58)
Children suffer for many reasons. Every case is different, no matter how similar the circumstances may appear.
The CSA seems unwilling to admit that mistakes are made in connection with child support. Payments are not collected; amounts in arrears are arbitrarily reduced; the absentee parent goes abroad and money cannot be collected for whatever reason; companies withhold payroll deductions for weeks and are not chased; the absentee parent cannot be traced despite detailed information (including address) being provided to the CSA; the absentee parent is unfairly assessed for child support, the list goes on.
It seems it is far too easy for the simple needs of the child to be overlooked.
When mistakes are made, the apology should be made, in person, to the children concerned. Those responsible might possibly take a little more care in their duties.