Children Act Review

Jane Kennedy, junior minister at the Lord Chancellor’s Department has announced a full review of the Children Act because of delays in the hearing of children cases. She suggested that because the Act introduced the concept of joint parental responsibility the provisions of s41 of the Matrimonial Causes Act as to arrangements for children are being dealt with on paper and not, as was the position prior to the introduction of the Act, at hearings at which both parents attended. Echoing the thoughts of the President of the Family Division (19/LL p65) she said that additional ways of ensuring that the voice of the child was heard were being considered including whether it should be easier for judges to refuse a divorce where they are not satisfied with the arrangements that had been made for the children.