Presumption of parental involvement review
This is the final report, and accompanying research reports, outlining the findings of the review of the presumption of parental involvement.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
The review of the presumption of parental involvement was launched in November 2020, in response to a recommendation from ‘Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases’, known as the Harm Panel Report. The review set out to consider how courts are applying sections 1(2A), (2B) and (6) of the Children Act 1989, and the impacts on children’s welfare of the courts’ application of these provisions. Together, these sections of the Act require courts to presume, in child arrangements and certain other private law children proceedings, that involvement of a parent in the child’s life will further the child’s welfare, unless there is evidence to suggest that involvement of that parent would put the child at risk of suffering harm. They define involvement as ‘involvement of some kind, either direct or indirect, but not any particular division of a child’s time’.
The findings of the review are presented in the final report.
Final report
This is the final report of the review. It outlines the findings from the commissioned research reports as well as additional evidence gathering conducted by the Review team. The report provides an assessment of how the presumption is being applied by the courts and the impact on child welfare of that application.
Summary for children and young people
This is a focused summary of the findings of the presumption review for children and young people.
Literature review
This literature review was conducted by Alma Economics and authored by MOJ government social researchers. It explored evidence on the impact harm and parental involvement have on child welfare across a range of contexts.
Qualitative research
A qualitative research project conducted by the Race Equality Foundation, in partnership with We Stand, to explore the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic parents and parents with experience of cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. A technical report is published alongside the main findings.
Judgment analysis
The National Centre for Social Research undertook an analysis of unpublished court judgments and magistrates’ written facts and reasons. This work explored the application and use of the presumption and risk of harm exception in relevant private law children cases. A technical report is published alongside the main findings.
Related link
Press release: Government action to protect children from abusive parents