HUGH Henry, the deputy justice minister, should not be criticised simply for stating the obvious yesterday about the best environment for bringing up children. Launching the Family Law (Scotland) Bill, he said children in a stable and secure family had the best start in life. It is true. But the facts of modern Scottish life suggest it is a start that benefits fewer children. Some 40-per cent of births are registered to unmarried couples (which does not in itself mean that such relationships are unstable or insecure for children)while the divorce rate is rising (detrimental to the wellbeing of children).
The bill, which could become law next year, seeks to recognise the reality of changing relationships while putting children at the centre of the package of reforms. Making it easier for parents to divorce might seem a strange way to reconcile the two aims, but the intention is to reduce the impact on children when marriages break down irretrievably and acrimony infects the family home.
In addition, unwed parents would have full parental rights and responsibilities if registered on the child's birth certificate - a welcome development that should benefit the children of such relationships. The bill proposes offering greatermediation to couples experiencing difficulties, in line with the aim of fashioning family law as a safety net for family life. If mediation is to be effective, service providers will have to be properly funded and not treated as a soft target when budgets are cut.
The bill has been criticised by the Roman Catholic Church and the Conservatives at Holyrood for undermining marriage. That is not the intention and, if carefully implemented, the proposals should not have that effect.
Perhaps the most contentious element in the bill is, appropriately, about the family grouping whose concerns and interests have captured less attention than merited. That group is Scotland's grandparents, specifically those denied access to grandchildren.
Frequently this is through no fault of their own. Often it is a consequence of personal enmity spilling over from both parents in a failed marriage or relationship. Grandparents Apart, a pressure group, has lobbied for grandparents to be given legal rights to grandchildren. The Scottish Executive has ruled this out on several grounds, one being that to give grandparents an automatic right of access could ignore the rights of children.
It is a compelling consideration when, on the executive's own account, children should be the focus of reform.
In otherwords, it should be for their benefit. Ministers instead plan to draft a grandparents' charter to reflect the positive role they can play. That role should not be taken for granted. Some 45-per cent of babies and toddlers are childminded by granny. This reflects the growing amount of time grandparents spend with their grandchildren, especially those in single-parent households and where both parents work.
Grandparents are often a force for good in fractured families. The charter should reflect their role and support, through mediation, those who, in heartbreaking circumstances, are not allowed to see their grandchildren.
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