OAP couple jailed for talking to grandson

Oct 29 2007 by Fionnuala Bourke

"But taking a child from its birth mother is - if it's a miscarriage of justice - no lesser injustice than a wrongly imposed life sentence, both for the mother and the child.

"Each case has to be judged on its merits and the interests of the child.

"But the context has changed and many of the comfortable certainties about attitudes to families are no longer there.

"More people are affected by decisions of the family courts than used to be the case - more than 400,000 every year.

"Changes in family structure and social attitudes, greater cultural diversity, new reproductive technologies and global mobility bring new challenges to the family courts."

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Lord Falconer announced plans to 'promote a culture of open-ness in family courts' in June this year.

The new measures include providing more information about how the court has reached its decision for the people involved in proceedings and those who are subject to proceedings as children.

A pilot scheme is being devised to implement the proposals.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: "The Government is committed to improving public confidence in the family courts and ensuring that the family justice system is properly understood and valued.

"The key principle informing change is that children come first.

"Children and young people, and the organisations that support and protect them, have told us that they do not want the media attending family proceedings as of right, and we have listened.

"This is an excellent example of good consultation practices.

"We have consulted, listened, and changed our mind.

"Our new approach, announced in June, focuses on improving openness by improving the amount and quality of information coming out of the family courts, while also ensuring that children's privacy is respected.

"This consultation closed at the beginning of October.

"We will publish our response once we have had the opportunity to reflect fully on what people have said."