Letter for Councillors, MSPs MPs, Clients.
The previous Scottish Government created the ‘Charter for Grandchildren’ and the present government has now passed the responsibility for implementing it to local authorities.
Grandparents Apart UK, Anne McLaughlin MSP, Willie Coffey MSP, Kenny Gibson MSP and Bailie Iris Gibson Glasgow City councillor are heading this campaign to have the ‘Charter for Grandchildren’ made mandatory for professionals involved in the welfare of children. Our sincere request is for them to have your support for the best interests of our children.
The Charter for Grandchildren, which is for guidance only, was created by the Scottish Government along with Grandparents Apart UK and others, to accompany the Scottish Family Law Act (Scotland) 2006. This has not been as successful as everyone hoped and is largely being ignored by Social Services, courts, lawyers and professionals working in the welfare of children. This has arisen because of the attitude of Social Services towards grandparents when they dare to comment on how their grandchildren are treated. Social Service’s reaction is to cut them off as uncooperative and tell them they are irrelevant persons and don’t need to be kept informed.
Our request now is to have the Charter for Grandchildren made mandatory for professionals in order that children cannot be denied the love and protection that their grandparents can offer. Cross party MSPs, wide ranging family groups and representatives of various authorities support the Charter for Grandchildren, but without proper backing, guidance for best practice it is being ignored.
In the Charter for Grandchildren grandparents do not have any legal rights. It states that the role grandparents can play in children’s lives must be taken seriously, e.g. in early detection of abuse and offering stability and emotional security in crisis situations. It is the thousands of little things children get from their grandparents that comfort them the most, instead of being shunted to strangers and from pillar to post when family members are available.
The reason for our campaign is because grandparents are regarded in law as irrelevant persons in their grandchildren’s lives, and it can happen to you. You can be cut out of your grandchildren’s lives at a whim because of family problems, fall outs or bereavement. Being cut out of your grandchildren’s lives happens all too easily and our authorities too often hinder, rather than help support families. Evidence shows our children benefit from the support of their family members. They must be allowed that support.
In our personal case we regained contact and consider ourselves very fortunate but cannot forget the devastation we and our grandchildren went through. This is why we set up this group to offer support and guidance to others which was not available when we needed it.
Jimmy Deuchars
Grandparents Apart UK
22 Alness Crescent
Glasgow G52 1PJ
0141 882 5658
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk
The ‘Charter for Grandchildren’
It is important that parents, grandparents and other family members, speak to, and treat each other, with respect. You may not get on, but you can still be civil, for the sake of the children. Try to avoid arguing with or criticising family members in front of the children. It can be very upsetting for them.
On occasions professional organizations such as social work departments or the courts can become involved and may have to make decisions that will have a lasting impact throughout a child’s entire life. In these circumstances it is vital that the loving and supportive role that the wider family, in particular grandparents can play is utilised to the full
FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT TO CHILDREN
(Grandchildren can expect)
• To be involved with and helped to understand decisions made about their lives.
• To be treated fairly
• To know and maintain contact with their family (except in very exceptional circumstances) and
other people who are important to them.
• To know that their grandparents still love them, even if they are not able to see them at
the present time.
• To know their family history.
• The adults in their lives to put their needs first and to protect them from disputes between
adults –
not to use them as weapons in quarrels between adults.
• Social workers , when making assessments about their lives, to take into account the
loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
• The Courts, when making decisions about their lives, to take into account the loving and
supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
• Lawyers and other advisers to encourage relationship counselling or mediation when
adults seek advice on matters affecting them and their children.
Along with others, Grandparents Apart UK put a lot of hard work into The Charter for Grandchildren by demanding to be heard about the gaps in family law concerning their grandchildren. Why? Because we really do have the best interests of our grandchildren at heart, if it was not for our love for them why would we bother?
Grandparents Apart UK.
22 Alness Crescent, Glasgow G52 1PJ
A Scottish Registered Volunteer Charity No. SC 031558
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk
The Ten Commandments of Family Law.
(What we feel needs to change for our children’s best interest?)
1…Our motto is “Bringing Families Together” so we think the best interests of a
child starts with Equal parenting when there is no factually proven reason not
to.
2....The ‘Charter for Grandchildren’ to be Mandatory for Professionals working in
Children’s welfare and answerable in law.
3…Children are human beings. Stop treating them as Commodities like a
business deal. Cost only criteria and can ruin children’s lives
4.....If adopted, where appropriate, child contact maintained with birth family in
line with article 8 of the UN Convention on the rights of the child. (Should only
be stopped in the worst case scenario)
5 ...Kinship care before strangers to be the first choice.
6. ..All below accountable to law. (a)--..False accusations. (b)-..Erroneous reporting by
social workers. (c)…Flouting of court orders (d) Social Services Orchestrating “cover up’s”,
when children are failed
7…Proper recording of all social work meetings and discussions E.g. Dual tape
recording similar to police proceedings (to prevent and combat section 6 b+d)
8….More “transparency” and especially “accountability” for Social work and their
managers
9….Specialised training for social workers in the best interests of children. (Only
the most highly experienced social workers to deal in child protection)
10…. Accusations removed from record, when not proven.
Jimmy Deuchars
Grandparents Apart UK
22 Alness crescent
Glasgow G52 1PJ
0141 882 5658
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk
Grandparents Apart UK.
Petition.
Grandparents Apart UK request the petitions committee to urge the government to make ‘The Charter for Grandchildren’ mandatory for professionals who work in the welfare of children.
More info:- http://grandparentsapartuk.blogspot.com/ to see hard petition
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Equal shared parenting bill June 16 2009
Mr. Vellacott introduced a Private Member’s Bill this morning that would require a presumption of equal parenting. This is a BILL, not a MOTION. It’s # is C-422. Don’t refer to it as M-483 if contacting others such as politicians or media about this bill because M-483 as an equal parenting measure was terminated with the last election call, as most of you already know, so nobody will know what you are talking about if you refer to it incorrectly. Mr. Vellacott’s introductory statement in introducing this bill this morning was as follows: Intro Statement –
Equal Shared Parenting PMB – June 16, 2009 Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to be introducing a
Private Member’s Bill today which would direct courts in regard to divorce, to make equal shared parenting the presumptive arrangement in the best interests of the child, except in proven cases of abuse or neglect.
Over 10 years ago, a Joint House-Senate committee presented to Parliament a report entitled “For the Sake of the Children.” That report urged Parliament to amend the Divorce Act to make equal shared parenting the normative determination by courts dealing with situations of divorce involving children. This non-partisan recommendation from that Joint House-Senate was based on compelling research made available to the committee members. Over the past ten years, the best research has continued to demonstrate the far superior outcomes for children, in general, when both parents – mom AND dad – are actively involved in their children's lives, even if the parents divorce or separate.
Polling from the past two years demonstrates overwhelming support from Canadians for equal shared parenting. There is, in fact, slightly more support among women than men for equal parenting. This strong support from almost 80% of Canadians exists across the country, with the strongest regional support coming from Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Canadians claiming to be Liberal and Bloc supporters, expressed the strongest endorsement for equal shared parenting, at 80.6% among Liberals and 82.9% among Bloc Quebecois supporters.
A variety of countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Australia, and various U.S. states, have implemented equal parenting, joint custody or shared parenting presumptive legislation, which has resulted in lowered court costs, less conflict and improved social outcomes for the children of divorce.
This bill is one of the most a-political, non-partisan pieces of legislation introduced in this current Parliament. I look forward to strong support for this important piece of legislation from all Members of Parliament who are committed to the best interests of our Canadian children.
Equal Shared Parenting PMB – June 16, 2009 Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to be introducing a
Private Member’s Bill today which would direct courts in regard to divorce, to make equal shared parenting the presumptive arrangement in the best interests of the child, except in proven cases of abuse or neglect.
Over 10 years ago, a Joint House-Senate committee presented to Parliament a report entitled “For the Sake of the Children.” That report urged Parliament to amend the Divorce Act to make equal shared parenting the normative determination by courts dealing with situations of divorce involving children. This non-partisan recommendation from that Joint House-Senate was based on compelling research made available to the committee members. Over the past ten years, the best research has continued to demonstrate the far superior outcomes for children, in general, when both parents – mom AND dad – are actively involved in their children's lives, even if the parents divorce or separate.
Polling from the past two years demonstrates overwhelming support from Canadians for equal shared parenting. There is, in fact, slightly more support among women than men for equal parenting. This strong support from almost 80% of Canadians exists across the country, with the strongest regional support coming from Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
Canadians claiming to be Liberal and Bloc supporters, expressed the strongest endorsement for equal shared parenting, at 80.6% among Liberals and 82.9% among Bloc Quebecois supporters.
A variety of countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Australia, and various U.S. states, have implemented equal parenting, joint custody or shared parenting presumptive legislation, which has resulted in lowered court costs, less conflict and improved social outcomes for the children of divorce.
This bill is one of the most a-political, non-partisan pieces of legislation introduced in this current Parliament. I look forward to strong support for this important piece of legislation from all Members of Parliament who are committed to the best interests of our Canadian children.
Glassop's fued with Geldof.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1193156/Michael-Hutchences-mum-reignites-feud-Bob-Geldof-lack-contact-Tiger-Lily.html
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 3:25 PM on 15th June 2009
The mother of the late rock star Michael Hutchence today reignited her feud with Bob Geldof over her granddaughter.
Pat Glassop claims Geldof hasn’t let her see 12-year-old Tiger Lily for three years and said she 'barely knows' her.
Tiger Lily is the former INXS frontman’s child with Geldof’s ex-wife Paula Yates. Hutchence died in 1997, aged 37.
Feud: Mother of the late rock star Michael Hutchence claims Bob Geldof has not let her see granddaughter Tiger Lily for three years
He was found hanged in a hotel room in Sydney. Three years later, Yates, 41, died from an accidental overdose of heroin in London.
Geldof became Tiger Lily’s legal guardian and she lives with him and her half-sisters Fifi Trixibelle, 26, Peaches, 23, and Pixie, 18, in London.
Ms Glassop fears she may never see her again. 'I don’t know what Tiger Lily’s favourite colour is, what movies she likes or what fashion she’s into,' she said. 'I don’t know anything, yet she is my son’s daughter.'
No contact: Bob and Tiger Lily at the premiere for the DVD release of the Live 8 concert in July 2005
Ms Glassop says she last saw Tiger Lily in 2006 when she was allowed to visit for five days, but on condition she brought a nanny.
Then, two years ago, she called Geldof 'Satan' after he reportedly severed all ties.
And she hit out at the former Boomtown Rat for refusing to let Tiger Lily see her grandfather Ross last month before he died
Family bond: Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates with newborn Tiger Lily in 1996
Ms Glassop, who lives on Australia’s Gold Coast, said: 'I explained that Ross was seriously ill but I never heard back.
'Now it’s too late. I don’t understand how any man could do that.
'It’s not only hurting us, it’s hurting Tiger Lily.'
Bob Geldof was not available for comment today.
Bob Geldof agreed to be our honorary patron a good few years ago. But said he would be to busy to attend any wee do’s or fete’s. I said I would not expect him to as he was such a busy man. Asking Bob Geldof to be our Honorary Patron got us attention from the media but he has never done anything else for us.
We published a book “Grandparents Speak out for Vulnerable Children” and asked Bob to write a couple of words on the intro but he did not answer.
Mrs Glassop joined our group in order to blacken. Bob but at the time the version that was feasible was Paula Yates asked him to keep the children together which he did. He has given Mrs Glassop contact but only in London as far as i know because he was afraid she would keep her in Australia if she was to go there. And that would be against Paula's wishes. Mrs Glassop has given me a hard time about this and i have received letters from all over the world on the hate campaign against him which i sent on to him.
The last communication i had from Bobs PR at Ten-alps-events was to remove her from my email list which i have done.
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 3:25 PM on 15th June 2009
The mother of the late rock star Michael Hutchence today reignited her feud with Bob Geldof over her granddaughter.
Pat Glassop claims Geldof hasn’t let her see 12-year-old Tiger Lily for three years and said she 'barely knows' her.
Tiger Lily is the former INXS frontman’s child with Geldof’s ex-wife Paula Yates. Hutchence died in 1997, aged 37.
Feud: Mother of the late rock star Michael Hutchence claims Bob Geldof has not let her see granddaughter Tiger Lily for three years
He was found hanged in a hotel room in Sydney. Three years later, Yates, 41, died from an accidental overdose of heroin in London.
Geldof became Tiger Lily’s legal guardian and she lives with him and her half-sisters Fifi Trixibelle, 26, Peaches, 23, and Pixie, 18, in London.
Ms Glassop fears she may never see her again. 'I don’t know what Tiger Lily’s favourite colour is, what movies she likes or what fashion she’s into,' she said. 'I don’t know anything, yet she is my son’s daughter.'
No contact: Bob and Tiger Lily at the premiere for the DVD release of the Live 8 concert in July 2005
Ms Glassop says she last saw Tiger Lily in 2006 when she was allowed to visit for five days, but on condition she brought a nanny.
Then, two years ago, she called Geldof 'Satan' after he reportedly severed all ties.
And she hit out at the former Boomtown Rat for refusing to let Tiger Lily see her grandfather Ross last month before he died
Family bond: Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates with newborn Tiger Lily in 1996
Ms Glassop, who lives on Australia’s Gold Coast, said: 'I explained that Ross was seriously ill but I never heard back.
'Now it’s too late. I don’t understand how any man could do that.
'It’s not only hurting us, it’s hurting Tiger Lily.'
Bob Geldof was not available for comment today.
Bob Geldof agreed to be our honorary patron a good few years ago. But said he would be to busy to attend any wee do’s or fete’s. I said I would not expect him to as he was such a busy man. Asking Bob Geldof to be our Honorary Patron got us attention from the media but he has never done anything else for us.
We published a book “Grandparents Speak out for Vulnerable Children” and asked Bob to write a couple of words on the intro but he did not answer.
Mrs Glassop joined our group in order to blacken. Bob but at the time the version that was feasible was Paula Yates asked him to keep the children together which he did. He has given Mrs Glassop contact but only in London as far as i know because he was afraid she would keep her in Australia if she was to go there. And that would be against Paula's wishes. Mrs Glassop has given me a hard time about this and i have received letters from all over the world on the hate campaign against him which i sent on to him.
The last communication i had from Bobs PR at Ten-alps-events was to remove her from my email list which i have done.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Another Social Service blunder
Press release, immediate.
A granny that we have been supporting is demented by the treatment her daughter and granddaughter have been receiving at the hands of social services.
The granddaughter has been put into the care of someone who did not get on with her at all. Because of her unhappiness she lost weight, threatened to run away and was self harming. After numerous letters stating social services were interfering unnecessarily in the lives of this family. We finally got an answer from the chief executive of the council saying everything we asked for was now in place. The wee girl was back with her mother and the granny was in support of them a happy family once again.
The family was delighted, the wee girl was over the moon to be back home.
But !!! The nightmare goes on.
You can imagine the horror when two days after the good news letter social workers accompanied by two police officers went to the two youngest children’s school and removed them to a social services place of what you could only call interrogation. The older girl was also taken later on and put through the mill..
The accusation was the ex husband who has never been on the scene since they split up was said to have battered the children in retaliation for being dropped from the marriage.
This turned out to be an untrue malicious complainer and the social services could not apologise enough for the hassle caused.
TOO late!!! For apologies, the blundering social services ride again. Typically snatching children without real proof and putting them through hell. The children were terrified being taken away by all these people without their mother or granny.
This is the reason why we need the ‘Charter for Grandchildren’ made mandatory for professionals. The granny was perfectly able to look after her granddaughter, she is in full health, fit and has perfect accommodation but she was being ignored because she is an irrelevant person in her grandchildren’s lives and was repeatedly told so. When the granny spoke out about the treatment she was immediately labelled as uncooperative and ignored but this feisty granny was determined her family was going to get justice. With our support we hope this has come to pass.
Ends
For more info contact:-
Jimmy Deuchars
Grandparents Apart UK
22 Alness crescent
Glasgow G52 1PJ
0141 882 5658
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk
A granny that we have been supporting is demented by the treatment her daughter and granddaughter have been receiving at the hands of social services.
The granddaughter has been put into the care of someone who did not get on with her at all. Because of her unhappiness she lost weight, threatened to run away and was self harming. After numerous letters stating social services were interfering unnecessarily in the lives of this family. We finally got an answer from the chief executive of the council saying everything we asked for was now in place. The wee girl was back with her mother and the granny was in support of them a happy family once again.
The family was delighted, the wee girl was over the moon to be back home.
But !!! The nightmare goes on.
You can imagine the horror when two days after the good news letter social workers accompanied by two police officers went to the two youngest children’s school and removed them to a social services place of what you could only call interrogation. The older girl was also taken later on and put through the mill..
The accusation was the ex husband who has never been on the scene since they split up was said to have battered the children in retaliation for being dropped from the marriage.
This turned out to be an untrue malicious complainer and the social services could not apologise enough for the hassle caused.
TOO late!!! For apologies, the blundering social services ride again. Typically snatching children without real proof and putting them through hell. The children were terrified being taken away by all these people without their mother or granny.
This is the reason why we need the ‘Charter for Grandchildren’ made mandatory for professionals. The granny was perfectly able to look after her granddaughter, she is in full health, fit and has perfect accommodation but she was being ignored because she is an irrelevant person in her grandchildren’s lives and was repeatedly told so. When the granny spoke out about the treatment she was immediately labelled as uncooperative and ignored but this feisty granny was determined her family was going to get justice. With our support we hope this has come to pass.
Ends
For more info contact:-
Jimmy Deuchars
Grandparents Apart UK
22 Alness crescent
Glasgow G52 1PJ
0141 882 5658
http://www.grandparentsapart.co.uk
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Scottish Woman's Aid, Mission Statement.
Our vision
Scottish Women's Aid’s vision is of a society in which women, children and young people are full and equal participants, unconstrained by the threat of domestic abuse or other forms of violence or oppression.
Our mission
We believe that ending violence against women means tackling its root cause, which is gender inequality.
We will do this by:
· Promoting women’s equality and children’s rights
· Campaigning for policy and practice responses that actively prevent violence against women
· Working to ensure appropriate service responses are available for women children and young people with experience of domestic abuse
· Providing services and advice to our members
Regards Heather
Heather Coady
Children's Policy
Scottish Women's Aid
2nd Floor
132 Rose Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3JD
Tel: +44(0)131 226 4958
Heather.Coady@scottishwomensaid.org.uk
Scottish Women's Aid’s vision is of a society in which women, children and young people are full and equal participants, unconstrained by the threat of domestic abuse or other forms of violence or oppression.
Our mission
We believe that ending violence against women means tackling its root cause, which is gender inequality.
We will do this by:
· Promoting women’s equality and children’s rights
· Campaigning for policy and practice responses that actively prevent violence against women
· Working to ensure appropriate service responses are available for women children and young people with experience of domestic abuse
· Providing services and advice to our members
Regards Heather
Heather Coady
Children's Policy
Scottish Women's Aid
2nd Floor
132 Rose Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3JD
Tel: +44(0)131 226 4958
Heather.Coady@scottishwomensaid.org.uk
Friday, June 12, 2009
Grandmother to give grandson to criminal father
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192391/Grandmother-devoted-life-grandson-5-forced-hand-criminal-father.html
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 7:01 PM on 11th June 2009
A woman who has devoted her life to caring for her five-year-old grandson must give him up to his criminal father after judges ruled he should be with his natural parents.
The woman has cared for the boy since his birth and has fought his father, who has recently served time for racially aggravated assault, to keep the youngster.
But Appeal Court judges today upheld 'the immutable principle that children should live with their natural parents' when they ordered the grandmother to hand over the boy.
However, the court heard that the grandmother is refusing to give in and is determined to take her case to the House of Lords.
She will be able to hold on to the boy - referred to in court only as 'H' - until the Law Lords have considered her plea.
In a bid to defuse the family war, Lord Justice Wall told the court: 'The mother, father and H all owe the grandmother an enormous debt in this case.
'Nothing can take away from what she has given to H. Indeed, without her, H may have been taken into care and adopted.
'Whatever happens in the future, the grandmother will continue to play an important role in H's life'.
Urging an end to the bitter litigation, the judge added: 'Of course the future is uncertain, but we very much hope that the parties will now be able to cooperate over H and his future. It is very much in H's interest that they should do so.
'Dragging up the past and making criticisms of each other...is no substitute for H growing up in a family in which there is mutual respect and co-operation and in which H can move between family members without ill ease or disloyalty.'
But, ruling in favour of the father, the judge said it was the 'right result' that his rights as a natural parent should take precedence and the woman who has looked after him all her life 'should now resume her proper role as grandmother'.
Urging the grandmother to hold back from taking her case to the House of Lords, Lord Justice Wall said: 'Our hope remains that she will, for H's sake, say that enough is enough and will negotiate a sensible handover of H to the father's care'.
At Norwich High Court earlier this year, Judge Richards ruled that the grandmother should give up the boy.
He said: 'It has been said that wise or foolish, rich or poor, it is the right of the child to be brought up in the home of his or her natural parent'
He added that the courts 'should always have in mind, in the ordinary way, that the rearing of a child by his or her biological parents can be expected to be in the child's best interests, both in the short term and, importantly, in the long term'.
As the father - now married - was capable of being a 'good enough' parent to the boy, Judge Richards said he was entitled to precedence as the natural father.
In his decision today, Lord Justice Wall said: 'We have to doubt, as a matter of principle, whether or not 'good enough' parenting by a natural parent is necessarily more in a child's best interests than first rate parenting by a grandmother.'
But, despite arguments that the grandmother is H's 'psychological parent' and it would be in the boy's best interests to stay with her, the judge said that the courts 'must beware of what has been described as 'social engineering''.
Dismissing the grandmother's appeal, the judge, sitting with Lord Justice Elias, said he could find nothing 'plainly wrong' in Judge Richards' decision and he had exercised his discretion 'to achieve what we think is the right result'.
The Appeal Court's order that the grandmother hand over the boy to his father was stayed pending her application for leave to appeal to the House of Lords.
Her barrister, Peter Horrocks, said a petition would be delivered to the Law Lords by the end of next week
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 7:01 PM on 11th June 2009
A woman who has devoted her life to caring for her five-year-old grandson must give him up to his criminal father after judges ruled he should be with his natural parents.
The woman has cared for the boy since his birth and has fought his father, who has recently served time for racially aggravated assault, to keep the youngster.
But Appeal Court judges today upheld 'the immutable principle that children should live with their natural parents' when they ordered the grandmother to hand over the boy.
However, the court heard that the grandmother is refusing to give in and is determined to take her case to the House of Lords.
She will be able to hold on to the boy - referred to in court only as 'H' - until the Law Lords have considered her plea.
In a bid to defuse the family war, Lord Justice Wall told the court: 'The mother, father and H all owe the grandmother an enormous debt in this case.
'Nothing can take away from what she has given to H. Indeed, without her, H may have been taken into care and adopted.
'Whatever happens in the future, the grandmother will continue to play an important role in H's life'.
Urging an end to the bitter litigation, the judge added: 'Of course the future is uncertain, but we very much hope that the parties will now be able to cooperate over H and his future. It is very much in H's interest that they should do so.
'Dragging up the past and making criticisms of each other...is no substitute for H growing up in a family in which there is mutual respect and co-operation and in which H can move between family members without ill ease or disloyalty.'
But, ruling in favour of the father, the judge said it was the 'right result' that his rights as a natural parent should take precedence and the woman who has looked after him all her life 'should now resume her proper role as grandmother'.
Urging the grandmother to hold back from taking her case to the House of Lords, Lord Justice Wall said: 'Our hope remains that she will, for H's sake, say that enough is enough and will negotiate a sensible handover of H to the father's care'.
At Norwich High Court earlier this year, Judge Richards ruled that the grandmother should give up the boy.
He said: 'It has been said that wise or foolish, rich or poor, it is the right of the child to be brought up in the home of his or her natural parent'
He added that the courts 'should always have in mind, in the ordinary way, that the rearing of a child by his or her biological parents can be expected to be in the child's best interests, both in the short term and, importantly, in the long term'.
As the father - now married - was capable of being a 'good enough' parent to the boy, Judge Richards said he was entitled to precedence as the natural father.
In his decision today, Lord Justice Wall said: 'We have to doubt, as a matter of principle, whether or not 'good enough' parenting by a natural parent is necessarily more in a child's best interests than first rate parenting by a grandmother.'
But, despite arguments that the grandmother is H's 'psychological parent' and it would be in the boy's best interests to stay with her, the judge said that the courts 'must beware of what has been described as 'social engineering''.
Dismissing the grandmother's appeal, the judge, sitting with Lord Justice Elias, said he could find nothing 'plainly wrong' in Judge Richards' decision and he had exercised his discretion 'to achieve what we think is the right result'.
The Appeal Court's order that the grandmother hand over the boy to his father was stayed pending her application for leave to appeal to the House of Lords.
Her barrister, Peter Horrocks, said a petition would be delivered to the Law Lords by the end of next week
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Times
June 9, 2009
Don’t exclude the grandparents
Almost half of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after family break-up — but when Susannah Hickling lost her French partner, she found that she needed her in-laws’ help more than ever
Susannah Hickling
I had known about Richard’s death for all of one minute when his mother started to scream repeatedly: “She’ll go back to England and we’ll never see the baby again!” Submerged in an ocean of grief with an icy numbness already creeping over me, I can honestly say that the thought of taking our 15-day-old son from our home in France back to London had not even entered my head.
In the weeks and months that followed, my mother and sister urged me to do just that. I did eventually go back — but not for another four years and not before I was satisfied that my son had built a meaningful relationship with his father’s family.
Even amid the most terrible sorrow, something told me that it was important for Joshua to get to know his paternal grandparents, his aunt and uncle and his half-brother and half-sister — people I barely knew myself, as a relative newcomer to their small village in Provence. They were a close family in an area where blood ties are so strong that they often exclude friendships. Joshua would also need to speak French, as Richard’s relatives spoke no English. And, anyway, having lost my soulmate, who was shot accidentally by a game hunter on a hillside near our home, when our child was barely two weeks old, I reasoned that I would be unhappy wherever I was.
The Grandparents’ Association estimates that more than a million children in Britain are not allowed to see their grandparents because of divorce or family tragedy. And a recent report published by pressure groups including the Family Matters Institute and Families Need Fathers pointed out that, while the law grants an automatic right to step-parents who have lived as part of a family for three years to apply to the family courts for contact, the same right is not given to grandparents.
In contrast to the UK — where 42 per cent of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after a family break-up — grandparents’ rights are enshrined in French law. I never wanted it to come to that, not because I thought that Richard’s family would take me to court but because it seemed clear to me that a mother has to act in the best interests of her child.
But I’d be lying if I pretended that it was easy. There were big differences in our views on child-rearing and in our cultural attitudes. I was in a village that even locals from nearby towns derided as “backward”. The advice from friends, family and parenting books was in stark contrast to the accepted practices there. It is common for the wider family to help to bring up the children in Provence, and mine interfered as only a Mediterranean family could. I was often a lone dissenting voice against their collective belief system.
When they urged me to put sugar on Joshua’s dummy to stop him crying, I told them that it was bad for his teeth. “But he doesn’t have any,” said his grandmother. “They’re there in his gums,” I insisted politely. Later, I saw the tell-tale sugary sheen around his mouth and felt the stickiness on his dummy. “Who did this?” I asked. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law looked sheepish. “You don’t want him to have sugar on his dummy — you deal with it,” warned my sister-in-law when we took a bawling Joshua out in his buggy later. I will, I thought. He is, after all, my baby.
It infuriated me that I could be entrusted to manage a team of people and a six-figure budget in the job I gave up to move to Provence, yet apparently I was an incompetent mother. But I kept my usually big mouth shut. I was trying to build a relationship, not engage in active warfare. And I was well aware that my partner’s family, like me, were mad with grief.
They were adamant that the good old ways were the best. These dictated that, for example, you should never let a baby take a nap under a fig or walnut tree (I had both) for fear of toxins in the leaves, but that you should feed him lambs’ brains.
I realised that being undermined was par for the course, but some of their ideas were terrifying. Richard’s mother and sister told me that if Joshua misbehaved he would be punished with the martinet, a whip with leather lashes. This was kept for disciplining their dogs but Joshua’s halfsister had once been hit with it as a little girl. Only once, mind you, they said. “I think that’s barbaric,” I said.
At one stage I was too frightened to leave Joshua alone at his grandparents’ home for more than a few minutes in case he was naughty — yet soon I saw that, far from being strict disciplinarians, the family doted on my son and spoilt him rotten. It helped that he was the spitting image of Richard, right down to the fair hair and the little triangles under his eyes when he was tired. Richard’s mother and sister even enjoyed changing his messy nappies.
Although they wanted to look after him all the time, it always had to be at their house, the hub of the family. A few months after Richard’s death I decided to return to the local drama group — but it started at 9pm, and getting both of us fed and out of the house with all the baby paraphernalia took two hours. By the time I had dropped Joshua at his grandparents’ home, I was too exhausted to be theatrical in French. And after I had collected him at 11pm and driven him, tired and cranky, back home, I was a shell. After two sessions I gave up drama and the hope of a life outside my home and my partner’s family. This is my life now, I told myself grimly. But it won’t always be like this.
Gradually things got better. As time passed, Richard’s family and I came to understand each other. They realised that I could care for a baby despite all that had happened, and our total misery at Richard’s death mellowed into the dull pain of missing him. We all became a bit more sane and Joshua, now 5, grew into a sociable and well-balanced bilingual child.
By the time I moved back to London 18 months ago, I knew that I had done the right thing by staying so long. I had proved that it is possible to maintain a relationship with your partner’s family even when that partner is no longer there. That proof is in the birthday card that his sister sent me a few months before I left: “To a wonderful sister-in-law who came into our family like a gift.” I felt guilty for all the mean things I’d thought over the years and was glad that I’d left them unsaid.
“Grandparents act as a link with the past,” says the sociologist Clifford Hill, research director of the Family Matters Institute. “They are very important to a child’s identity and stability. The absence of grandparents is a major reason why so many children are unstable.”
The Family Matters Institute, Families Need Fathers and the Grandparents’ Association are campaigning for a simplification of the tortuous and costly legal process that grandparents in the UK have to endure to see estranged grandchildren. A letter-writing campaign is urging MPs to include the issue in their party manifestos.
My son adores his father’s family and particularly his grandmother, who has always had the time to play with him that I, as a lone working parent, have not. He goes to a Saturday school to keep up his French, we Skype the in-laws every Sunday and go to see them in Provence twice a year. They, in turn, make an annual pilgrimage to London. Thanks to their love for Joshua and my ability, for once, to see the bigger picture, we have created an unbreakable link to the father my son never knew.
For further information and support, grandparents can Grandparents Apart UK 0141 882 5658
June 9, 2009
Don’t exclude the grandparents
Almost half of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after family break-up — but when Susannah Hickling lost her French partner, she found that she needed her in-laws’ help more than ever
Susannah Hickling
I had known about Richard’s death for all of one minute when his mother started to scream repeatedly: “She’ll go back to England and we’ll never see the baby again!” Submerged in an ocean of grief with an icy numbness already creeping over me, I can honestly say that the thought of taking our 15-day-old son from our home in France back to London had not even entered my head.
In the weeks and months that followed, my mother and sister urged me to do just that. I did eventually go back — but not for another four years and not before I was satisfied that my son had built a meaningful relationship with his father’s family.
Even amid the most terrible sorrow, something told me that it was important for Joshua to get to know his paternal grandparents, his aunt and uncle and his half-brother and half-sister — people I barely knew myself, as a relative newcomer to their small village in Provence. They were a close family in an area where blood ties are so strong that they often exclude friendships. Joshua would also need to speak French, as Richard’s relatives spoke no English. And, anyway, having lost my soulmate, who was shot accidentally by a game hunter on a hillside near our home, when our child was barely two weeks old, I reasoned that I would be unhappy wherever I was.
The Grandparents’ Association estimates that more than a million children in Britain are not allowed to see their grandparents because of divorce or family tragedy. And a recent report published by pressure groups including the Family Matters Institute and Families Need Fathers pointed out that, while the law grants an automatic right to step-parents who have lived as part of a family for three years to apply to the family courts for contact, the same right is not given to grandparents.
In contrast to the UK — where 42 per cent of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after a family break-up — grandparents’ rights are enshrined in French law. I never wanted it to come to that, not because I thought that Richard’s family would take me to court but because it seemed clear to me that a mother has to act in the best interests of her child.
But I’d be lying if I pretended that it was easy. There were big differences in our views on child-rearing and in our cultural attitudes. I was in a village that even locals from nearby towns derided as “backward”. The advice from friends, family and parenting books was in stark contrast to the accepted practices there. It is common for the wider family to help to bring up the children in Provence, and mine interfered as only a Mediterranean family could. I was often a lone dissenting voice against their collective belief system.
When they urged me to put sugar on Joshua’s dummy to stop him crying, I told them that it was bad for his teeth. “But he doesn’t have any,” said his grandmother. “They’re there in his gums,” I insisted politely. Later, I saw the tell-tale sugary sheen around his mouth and felt the stickiness on his dummy. “Who did this?” I asked. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law looked sheepish. “You don’t want him to have sugar on his dummy — you deal with it,” warned my sister-in-law when we took a bawling Joshua out in his buggy later. I will, I thought. He is, after all, my baby.
It infuriated me that I could be entrusted to manage a team of people and a six-figure budget in the job I gave up to move to Provence, yet apparently I was an incompetent mother. But I kept my usually big mouth shut. I was trying to build a relationship, not engage in active warfare. And I was well aware that my partner’s family, like me, were mad with grief.
They were adamant that the good old ways were the best. These dictated that, for example, you should never let a baby take a nap under a fig or walnut tree (I had both) for fear of toxins in the leaves, but that you should feed him lambs’ brains.
I realised that being undermined was par for the course, but some of their ideas were terrifying. Richard’s mother and sister told me that if Joshua misbehaved he would be punished with the martinet, a whip with leather lashes. This was kept for disciplining their dogs but Joshua’s halfsister had once been hit with it as a little girl. Only once, mind you, they said. “I think that’s barbaric,” I said.
At one stage I was too frightened to leave Joshua alone at his grandparents’ home for more than a few minutes in case he was naughty — yet soon I saw that, far from being strict disciplinarians, the family doted on my son and spoilt him rotten. It helped that he was the spitting image of Richard, right down to the fair hair and the little triangles under his eyes when he was tired. Richard’s mother and sister even enjoyed changing his messy nappies.
Although they wanted to look after him all the time, it always had to be at their house, the hub of the family. A few months after Richard’s death I decided to return to the local drama group — but it started at 9pm, and getting both of us fed and out of the house with all the baby paraphernalia took two hours. By the time I had dropped Joshua at his grandparents’ home, I was too exhausted to be theatrical in French. And after I had collected him at 11pm and driven him, tired and cranky, back home, I was a shell. After two sessions I gave up drama and the hope of a life outside my home and my partner’s family. This is my life now, I told myself grimly. But it won’t always be like this.
Gradually things got better. As time passed, Richard’s family and I came to understand each other. They realised that I could care for a baby despite all that had happened, and our total misery at Richard’s death mellowed into the dull pain of missing him. We all became a bit more sane and Joshua, now 5, grew into a sociable and well-balanced bilingual child.
By the time I moved back to London 18 months ago, I knew that I had done the right thing by staying so long. I had proved that it is possible to maintain a relationship with your partner’s family even when that partner is no longer there. That proof is in the birthday card that his sister sent me a few months before I left: “To a wonderful sister-in-law who came into our family like a gift.” I felt guilty for all the mean things I’d thought over the years and was glad that I’d left them unsaid.
“Grandparents act as a link with the past,” says the sociologist Clifford Hill, research director of the Family Matters Institute. “They are very important to a child’s identity and stability. The absence of grandparents is a major reason why so many children are unstable.”
The Family Matters Institute, Families Need Fathers and the Grandparents’ Association are campaigning for a simplification of the tortuous and costly legal process that grandparents in the UK have to endure to see estranged grandchildren. A letter-writing campaign is urging MPs to include the issue in their party manifestos.
My son adores his father’s family and particularly his grandmother, who has always had the time to play with him that I, as a lone working parent, have not. He goes to a Saturday school to keep up his French, we Skype the in-laws every Sunday and go to see them in Provence twice a year. They, in turn, make an annual pilgrimage to London. Thanks to their love for Joshua and my ability, for once, to see the bigger picture, we have created an unbreakable link to the father my son never knew.
For further information and support, grandparents can Grandparents Apart UK 0141 882 5658
Monday, June 8, 2009
Mother sent to prison for non-compliance
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Mother-sent-to-prison-in.5341020.jp
Mother sent to prison in child-access row with ex-partner
Published Date: 06 June 2009
By JOHN ROBERTSON
LAW CORRESPONDENT
A MOTHER has been jailed for three months and warned she could face longer in prison for repeatedly obstructing contact between her former partner and their daughter.
Tina Monem, 26, was held to be in contempt of court by a sheriff but was released after a couple of days pending an appeal against the three-month sentence, which she claimed was "harsh and oppressive".Her challenge was rejected by three judges
in the Court of Session, who said Ms Monem tried the sheriff's patience "beyond endurance".
They ordered her return to jail to complete the sentence.However, they made a finding against Ms Monem that she had committed contempt before them too, and she will be sentenced for that in due course.Lord Gill, the Lord Justice-Clerk, who headed the appeal court, said: "If we were to pass sentence for that contempt now, the sentence might be severe. "I think that we should give her the opportunity to reflect on the gravity of her conduct and to desist from it. I therefore propose that we should defer sentence for the contempt of this court for six months."Ms Monem's battle with her ex-partner over their seven-year-old child was heard by
Sheriff Richard Davidson in Dundee. The partner was granted six hours' contact a week, but it did not take place and Ms Monem made allegations against the partner, which were checked but found to be unsubstantiated.Sheriff Davidson held Ms Monem, from Carnoustie, Angus, to be in contempt of court for failing to obey the orders for contact. He delayed imposing any sentence to see whether new contact arrangements would be successful.
Mother sent to prison in child-access row with ex-partner
Published Date: 06 June 2009
By JOHN ROBERTSON
LAW CORRESPONDENT
A MOTHER has been jailed for three months and warned she could face longer in prison for repeatedly obstructing contact between her former partner and their daughter.
Tina Monem, 26, was held to be in contempt of court by a sheriff but was released after a couple of days pending an appeal against the three-month sentence, which she claimed was "harsh and oppressive".Her challenge was rejected by three judges
in the Court of Session, who said Ms Monem tried the sheriff's patience "beyond endurance".
They ordered her return to jail to complete the sentence.However, they made a finding against Ms Monem that she had committed contempt before them too, and she will be sentenced for that in due course.Lord Gill, the Lord Justice-Clerk, who headed the appeal court, said: "If we were to pass sentence for that contempt now, the sentence might be severe. "I think that we should give her the opportunity to reflect on the gravity of her conduct and to desist from it. I therefore propose that we should defer sentence for the contempt of this court for six months."Ms Monem's battle with her ex-partner over their seven-year-old child was heard by
Sheriff Richard Davidson in Dundee. The partner was granted six hours' contact a week, but it did not take place and Ms Monem made allegations against the partner, which were checked but found to be unsubstantiated.Sheriff Davidson held Ms Monem, from Carnoustie, Angus, to be in contempt of court for failing to obey the orders for contact. He delayed imposing any sentence to see whether new contact arrangements would be successful.
Reply from A Salmond and Jim Mather MSP
Constitution, Law ana Courts DirectorateCivil Law Division
The-ScottishGovernment
T:0131-2443322 F: 0131-244 4848E: Claire.McDermott@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Mr Jimmy Deuchars22 AIness CrescentGlasgowG521PJ
Our Ref: 2009/00137360R 6Th June 2009
Dear Mr Deuchars
Thank you for your letter of 27 April to the First Minister, Alex Salmond. He has asked me tothank you for your letter and respond on his behalf. Your email of 20 May to Jim MatherMSP has also been passed to me to respond.
I can appreciate the upset caused to the individuals involved in the cases detailed in yourletter but as you know the Scottish Government cannot comment on or intervene in these.This government believes that it is usually best if a child can have the loving involvement ofboth parents and wider family in his or her life, as long as this is safe and in the child's best
interests.
As you know the Scottish Government greatly valued the input made by stakeholders suchas yourself to the development of the Charter for Grandchildren, which was widelydistributed to a range of outlets. The Charter for Grandchildren was designed to be a non-legislative complement to the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. It is a document aimed athighlighting the important role grandparents and the wider family can play in supportingchildren, particularly through difficult times. During the passage of the Family Law Billthrough the Scottish Parliament, the issue of grandparents' rights was discussed and it wasagreed that giving grandparents a legal right to contact with their grandchildren might not bein their best interests in every case. Anyone with an interest in a child such as a grandparentor other family member can apply to the courts for contact with them. In making a decisionthe court will hold the welfare of the child as its principal concern.
The Scottish Government firmly believes that, if a child cannot live with their birth parents,the first option should be to consider the ability and capacity of kinship carers in the widerfamily to provide the child with a safe and permanent home. You may be interested to knowthat we will shortly lay the new regulations relating to looked after children at the ScottishParliament, The new regulations cover planning for all looked after children and set outwhat has to happen when a child is looked after at home, placed with a kinship or foster
carer or in a residential establishment. They also cover the assessment and approval ofkinship and foster carers and the role of fostering panels within local authorities.
The overall aim of the regulations is to improve the planning and decision making process forall looked after children and their carers. The regulations will mean that, for the first time,kinship carers of looked after children will have a formal statutory role. There will be a rangeof responsibilities and duties on both the local authority and the carer to meet the needs ofthe looked after child. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations will come into forceon 28 September 2009. We have also commissioned The Fostering Network and the BritishAssociation for Adoption and Fostering to jointly develop a detailed guidance package toaccompany the new regulations. A training programme will also be rolled out across all localauthorities in Scotland to help them implement the new legislation.
In cases where adoption is considered to be the best option to provide that child with apermanent safe, secure and stable home, an adoption agency must undertake a thoroughassessment. This assessment takes in the wider family circumstances and will considercontact arrangements where these are in the best interests of the child. However, the fina!decision on what arrangements for contact between the child and their natural family,including grandparents and siblings, is a matter for the court to decide in considering anadoption application and all the evidence presented.
Yours sincerely
Claire McDermottFamily and Property Law
The-ScottishGovernment
T:0131-2443322 F: 0131-244 4848E: Claire.McDermott@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Mr Jimmy Deuchars22 AIness CrescentGlasgowG521PJ
Our Ref: 2009/00137360R 6Th June 2009
Dear Mr Deuchars
Thank you for your letter of 27 April to the First Minister, Alex Salmond. He has asked me tothank you for your letter and respond on his behalf. Your email of 20 May to Jim MatherMSP has also been passed to me to respond.
I can appreciate the upset caused to the individuals involved in the cases detailed in yourletter but as you know the Scottish Government cannot comment on or intervene in these.This government believes that it is usually best if a child can have the loving involvement ofboth parents and wider family in his or her life, as long as this is safe and in the child's best
interests.
As you know the Scottish Government greatly valued the input made by stakeholders suchas yourself to the development of the Charter for Grandchildren, which was widelydistributed to a range of outlets. The Charter for Grandchildren was designed to be a non-legislative complement to the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. It is a document aimed athighlighting the important role grandparents and the wider family can play in supportingchildren, particularly through difficult times. During the passage of the Family Law Billthrough the Scottish Parliament, the issue of grandparents' rights was discussed and it wasagreed that giving grandparents a legal right to contact with their grandchildren might not bein their best interests in every case. Anyone with an interest in a child such as a grandparentor other family member can apply to the courts for contact with them. In making a decisionthe court will hold the welfare of the child as its principal concern.
The Scottish Government firmly believes that, if a child cannot live with their birth parents,the first option should be to consider the ability and capacity of kinship carers in the widerfamily to provide the child with a safe and permanent home. You may be interested to knowthat we will shortly lay the new regulations relating to looked after children at the ScottishParliament, The new regulations cover planning for all looked after children and set outwhat has to happen when a child is looked after at home, placed with a kinship or foster
carer or in a residential establishment. They also cover the assessment and approval ofkinship and foster carers and the role of fostering panels within local authorities.
The overall aim of the regulations is to improve the planning and decision making process forall looked after children and their carers. The regulations will mean that, for the first time,kinship carers of looked after children will have a formal statutory role. There will be a rangeof responsibilities and duties on both the local authority and the carer to meet the needs ofthe looked after child. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the regulations will come into forceon 28 September 2009. We have also commissioned The Fostering Network and the BritishAssociation for Adoption and Fostering to jointly develop a detailed guidance package toaccompany the new regulations. A training programme will also be rolled out across all localauthorities in Scotland to help them implement the new legislation.
In cases where adoption is considered to be the best option to provide that child with apermanent safe, secure and stable home, an adoption agency must undertake a thoroughassessment. This assessment takes in the wider family circumstances and will considercontact arrangements where these are in the best interests of the child. However, the fina!decision on what arrangements for contact between the child and their natural family,including grandparents and siblings, is a matter for the court to decide in considering anadoption application and all the evidence presented.
Yours sincerely
Claire McDermottFamily and Property Law
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The Charter for Grandchildren.
It is important that parents, grandparents and other family members, speak to, and treat each other, with respect. You may not get on, but you can still be civil, for the sake of the children. Try to avoid arguing with or criticising family members in front of the children. It can be very upsetting for them.
On occasions professional organizations such as social work departments or the courts can become involved and may have to make decisions that will have a lasting impact throughout a child’s entire life. In these circumstances it is vital that the loving and supportive role that the wider family, in particular grandparents can play is respected and protected for the child…
FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT TO CHILDREN
Grandchildren can expect:
To be involved with and helped to understand decisions made about their lives.
To be treated fairly
To know and maintain contact with their family (except in very exceptional circumstances) and other people who are important to them.
To know that their grandparents still love them, even if they are not able to see them at the present time.
To know their family history.
The adults in their lives to put their needs first and to protect them from disputes between adults - not to use them as weapons in quarrels between adults.
Social workers , when making assessments about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
The Courts, when making decisions about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
Lawyers and other advisers to encourage relationship counseling or mediation when adults seek advice on matters affecting them and their children.
Along with others, Grandparents Apart put a lot of hard work into “The Charter for Grandchildren” demanding to be heard about the gaps in the family law concerning their grandchildren. Why? Because we really do have the best interests of our grandchildren at heart, if it was not for love of them why would we bother?
We are happy to promote the Charter for Grandchildren and the Parenting Agreement because they are essential for the welfare of children.
Grandparents Apart Uk Revised proposal for the protection of children.
Our revised proposal is considering the child in as much as not to have the protection of their grandparents in child neglect and abuse cases is devastating to them and not at all in their best interests. In this revised proposal we have listened to the government and strive to work towards their wishes as much as possible.
The Governments of the UK have refused point blank to give grandparents legal rights of contact with their grandchildren. Their wishes are that grandparents should not have individual legal rights, the say it would cause more problems than it would resolve because grandparents would have more rights than fathers and it is not the answer for every child. (Neither are existing polocies)
Further wishes of the governments are that families get together without legislation and The Charter for Grandchildren was produced for that purpose but there has been no encouragement from the government and the situation is not improving and grandparents are being by-passed for strangers like the wee girl given to two men when the she was afraid of men...The grandparents in this case were willing and available..
We therefore propose that ‘The Charter for Grandchildren’ in Scotland should be adopted UK wide and ‘and be mandatory for professionals dealing with children thereby ensuring in the absence of one or both parents that the love and protective role grandparents can play is not wasted as is the case at present because grandparents are regarded as irrelevant (not important) persons and therefore rarely considered in practice.…(despite the social services statements to the contrary)
Being mandatory for professionals would not be an imposition on the rights of parents as was stated if they had individual rights. If the governments were to adopt this proposal as an example it would send a message of encouragement to families that grandparents can be a huge asset in the family and inspire mediation focusing on the best interests of the children especially when there is a huge rise in drug and alcohol abuse, and amid the fear of the ever increasing cases of child abuse. There cannot be a more child centered proposal.
It is generally agreed by governments and most organisations dealing with children that grandparents are very important in the family.. It is also agreed that they can be vital in the early detection of child abuse (children 1st) and in the care and stability of children when they are in a crisis situation especially in the middle of the night. That is if they are informed about it at all, being irrelevant persons, this is not always the case. If the crisis has been violent and very upsetting it would be in the best interests of the children to be settled as quickly as possible with someone who they know cares for them.
In any event, the following statements are proof enough that there is common ground to build on for the benefit of our children and the governments should act without delay.
Responses from concerned parties.
Children 1st. Response to PE 1156
Grandparents should be given the right of information about their grandchildren’s welfare.
Grandchildren’s Charter which is not about grandparents’ right to contact with their grandchildren, but about their grandchildren’s interests – these documents are available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/Civil/17867/10388
CHILDREN 1ST is a strong supporter of this approach. The Committee may want to ask the Government about how widely these documents are used, and whether any further non-legislative measures are needed to help embed their use. Children 1st. Response to PE 1120
I totally agree that grandparents are often best placed to detect any kind of abuse or addiction that harms children and are often left picking up the pieces with no support when things fall apart. I think resolving that bit should be a priority (i.e. offering financial and emotional support) and then perhaps there’s scope to move on to greater recognition of the role grandparents play and how this could be established in law.
H. C. Woman’s Aids recent communication. Not necessarily the final word of W. A.
You are totally right: grandparents are among the most skilled professionals when it comes to looking after children. Grandparents can play an essential role in not only boosting their grandchildren's well- being. But also - as you rightly say - in detecting child abuse. MS Miller has kindly agreed to this quote in firm belief that grandparents have a crucial role to play in a child’s life in the over whelming majority of circumstances.
Maria Miller MP
Thank you for your email. I have much sympathy with your case and have
noted that my fellow Hampshire MP and frontbench colleague, Maria
Miller, has made a point which I fully endorse.
Gerald Howarth MP
Member of Parliament for Aldershot & Shadow Defence Minister
Making the Grandparents' Charter mandatory for professionals effectively means that you create legal duties - in other words individuals cannot enforce rights directly but can expect state institutions to follow the principles of the Charter. It might be worth you exploring the implications of this with the government.
Robert Brown Euro MSP
Former Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson MSP, also a former social worker, said
“Grandparents play a hugely significant role in children's lives. They are often the people who step in to care for children when parents can't cope due to drug or alcohol misuse and many find themselves struggling financially as a result. I would expect every social work department to look at what they can do to help in these situations, to ensure that the best interests of the child are promoted at all times. Supporting grandparents is often the best way to support the children."
Cathy Jamieson MSP Shadow Justice Minister
During my four year term as an MSP (2003-2007) I encountered many problems relative to grandparents and their grandchildren. I regularly raised the issue of 'Kinship Carers' in Parliament and complained about the lack of funding for grandparents who had their grandchildren given into their care by social workers.
The new proposals by the 'Grandparents Apart UK organisation' would act as yet another safeguard in the welfare and wellbeing of vulnerable youngsters. It is imperative that the Government acts now to help to reduce the chance of any more children becoming the focus of media attention due to abuse which has gone unnoticed by social workers and allow the Charter for Grandchildren to be mandatory by professionals.
This is a cost free simple way to help to bring to an end this new trend in society whereby vulnerable children become helpless victims. All too often there is drugs at the root of the problem. Social workers need all the help they can get therefore should welcome this new proposal NOW!
John Swinburne. Leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party.
On occasions professional organizations such as social work departments or the courts can become involved and may have to make decisions that will have a lasting impact throughout a child’s entire life. In these circumstances it is vital that the loving and supportive role that the wider family, in particular grandparents can play is respected and protected for the child…
FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT TO CHILDREN
Grandchildren can expect:
To be involved with and helped to understand decisions made about their lives.
To be treated fairly
To know and maintain contact with their family (except in very exceptional circumstances) and other people who are important to them.
To know that their grandparents still love them, even if they are not able to see them at the present time.
To know their family history.
The adults in their lives to put their needs first and to protect them from disputes between adults - not to use them as weapons in quarrels between adults.
Social workers , when making assessments about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
The Courts, when making decisions about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.
Lawyers and other advisers to encourage relationship counseling or mediation when adults seek advice on matters affecting them and their children.
Along with others, Grandparents Apart put a lot of hard work into “The Charter for Grandchildren” demanding to be heard about the gaps in the family law concerning their grandchildren. Why? Because we really do have the best interests of our grandchildren at heart, if it was not for love of them why would we bother?
We are happy to promote the Charter for Grandchildren and the Parenting Agreement because they are essential for the welfare of children.
Grandparents Apart Uk Revised proposal for the protection of children.
Our revised proposal is considering the child in as much as not to have the protection of their grandparents in child neglect and abuse cases is devastating to them and not at all in their best interests. In this revised proposal we have listened to the government and strive to work towards their wishes as much as possible.
The Governments of the UK have refused point blank to give grandparents legal rights of contact with their grandchildren. Their wishes are that grandparents should not have individual legal rights, the say it would cause more problems than it would resolve because grandparents would have more rights than fathers and it is not the answer for every child. (Neither are existing polocies)
Further wishes of the governments are that families get together without legislation and The Charter for Grandchildren was produced for that purpose but there has been no encouragement from the government and the situation is not improving and grandparents are being by-passed for strangers like the wee girl given to two men when the she was afraid of men...The grandparents in this case were willing and available..
We therefore propose that ‘The Charter for Grandchildren’ in Scotland should be adopted UK wide and ‘and be mandatory for professionals dealing with children thereby ensuring in the absence of one or both parents that the love and protective role grandparents can play is not wasted as is the case at present because grandparents are regarded as irrelevant (not important) persons and therefore rarely considered in practice.…(despite the social services statements to the contrary)
Being mandatory for professionals would not be an imposition on the rights of parents as was stated if they had individual rights. If the governments were to adopt this proposal as an example it would send a message of encouragement to families that grandparents can be a huge asset in the family and inspire mediation focusing on the best interests of the children especially when there is a huge rise in drug and alcohol abuse, and amid the fear of the ever increasing cases of child abuse. There cannot be a more child centered proposal.
It is generally agreed by governments and most organisations dealing with children that grandparents are very important in the family.. It is also agreed that they can be vital in the early detection of child abuse (children 1st) and in the care and stability of children when they are in a crisis situation especially in the middle of the night. That is if they are informed about it at all, being irrelevant persons, this is not always the case. If the crisis has been violent and very upsetting it would be in the best interests of the children to be settled as quickly as possible with someone who they know cares for them.
In any event, the following statements are proof enough that there is common ground to build on for the benefit of our children and the governments should act without delay.
Responses from concerned parties.
Children 1st. Response to PE 1156
Grandparents should be given the right of information about their grandchildren’s welfare.
Grandchildren’s Charter which is not about grandparents’ right to contact with their grandchildren, but about their grandchildren’s interests – these documents are available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/Civil/17867/10388
CHILDREN 1ST is a strong supporter of this approach. The Committee may want to ask the Government about how widely these documents are used, and whether any further non-legislative measures are needed to help embed their use. Children 1st. Response to PE 1120
I totally agree that grandparents are often best placed to detect any kind of abuse or addiction that harms children and are often left picking up the pieces with no support when things fall apart. I think resolving that bit should be a priority (i.e. offering financial and emotional support) and then perhaps there’s scope to move on to greater recognition of the role grandparents play and how this could be established in law.
H. C. Woman’s Aids recent communication. Not necessarily the final word of W. A.
You are totally right: grandparents are among the most skilled professionals when it comes to looking after children. Grandparents can play an essential role in not only boosting their grandchildren's well- being. But also - as you rightly say - in detecting child abuse. MS Miller has kindly agreed to this quote in firm belief that grandparents have a crucial role to play in a child’s life in the over whelming majority of circumstances.
Maria Miller MP
Thank you for your email. I have much sympathy with your case and have
noted that my fellow Hampshire MP and frontbench colleague, Maria
Miller, has made a point which I fully endorse.
Gerald Howarth MP
Member of Parliament for Aldershot & Shadow Defence Minister
Making the Grandparents' Charter mandatory for professionals effectively means that you create legal duties - in other words individuals cannot enforce rights directly but can expect state institutions to follow the principles of the Charter. It might be worth you exploring the implications of this with the government.
Robert Brown Euro MSP
Former Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson MSP, also a former social worker, said
“Grandparents play a hugely significant role in children's lives. They are often the people who step in to care for children when parents can't cope due to drug or alcohol misuse and many find themselves struggling financially as a result. I would expect every social work department to look at what they can do to help in these situations, to ensure that the best interests of the child are promoted at all times. Supporting grandparents is often the best way to support the children."
Cathy Jamieson MSP Shadow Justice Minister
During my four year term as an MSP (2003-2007) I encountered many problems relative to grandparents and their grandchildren. I regularly raised the issue of 'Kinship Carers' in Parliament and complained about the lack of funding for grandparents who had their grandchildren given into their care by social workers.
The new proposals by the 'Grandparents Apart UK organisation' would act as yet another safeguard in the welfare and wellbeing of vulnerable youngsters. It is imperative that the Government acts now to help to reduce the chance of any more children becoming the focus of media attention due to abuse which has gone unnoticed by social workers and allow the Charter for Grandchildren to be mandatory by professionals.
This is a cost free simple way to help to bring to an end this new trend in society whereby vulnerable children become helpless victims. All too often there is drugs at the root of the problem. Social workers need all the help they can get therefore should welcome this new proposal NOW!
John Swinburne. Leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party.
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