CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO PARENTS (No. 2)

EDM number 476 in 2004-05, proposed by Hilton Dawson on 11/01/2005.

That this House recognises the right of all children to have contact with both parents if they wish to do so and if it can be safe; acknowledges that it is the responsibility of all parents to do all they can to ensure that this occurs in all circumstances; recognises that child abuse and domestic violence, which is intimately linked to child abuse, often goes unrecognised because of the powerlessness of victims; insists that the voices of children should be heard; calls upon the Government to ensure that a reformed family justice system is centred upon the best interests of children, integrated within a developing range of universal family support services and that it addresses the need for better judges and lawyers who can work in effective partnerships with fellow professionals and a great many more social workers, mediators, children and family workers; believes that a proper child-centred approach would value the quality of contact above the mere time doing it, aid consistency and consensus between parents and do away with the need for long lists of sanctions against those who at the moment may only be trying to protect their children in the knowledge that 29 children have been murdered during contact visits in recent years.

This motion has been signed by a total of 35 MPs.