ianstone
06-16-2010, 08:22 PM
Grandparents to win legal right to a role in absent children’s lives
By James Chapman (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=James+Chapman)
Last updated at 12:50 AM on 17th June 2010
Grandparents are to get sweeping legal rights as part of government plans to put ‘strong, stable and loving families’ back at the heart of British life.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says it is ‘crazy’ that millions of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after a family separation or divorce.
Ministers now plan to change the law to give greater access rights to grandparents when couples split. Mr Clegg, will set out his proposals in a speech on the family today.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287250-093F1B9E000005DC-386_468x340.jpg Family Values: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will stress the importance of grandparents contact with grandchildren
His reforms to help restore the ‘spirit of childhood’ that he says has disappeared for too many youngsters include:
• New rights for flexible parental leave.
•A crackdown on ‘irresponsible’ advertising and marketing aimed at children.
• A huge scaling back of Labour’s child tax credit in favour of income tax breaks.
• New powers for local communities to create and protect playgrounds and playing fields.
• Rights to respite care for parents with disabled children.
On grandparents, the Deputy Prime Minister says they play a vital role if marriages and relationships break down.
A government source added: ‘We recognise the important role that many grandparents play in children’s lives.
More...
Social services monitored Shannon Matthews's mother for 12 years, report reveals (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287081/Shannon-Matthews-Social-services-stopped-abduction-says-case-review.html)
THE LAST WORD by TONY HAZELL: We can't afford this! (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1286875/THE-LAST-WORD-TONY-HAZELL-We-afford-this.html)
‘We are looking at how to provide greater access rights to non-resident parents and grandparents when couples separate.’
Research suggests grandparents are increasingly relied upon by parents for help with childcare and family finances, and by older children for advice and support that they may not get at home.
But currently, they have no rights to maintain contact with grandchildren after a parental split.
Almost half face being cut off completely and never seeing their grandchildren again after a break-up, with those whose sons are involved in a split faring worst. The Children Act 1989 gave step-parents who have lived as part of a family for three years the right to apply for contact, but did not extend the same right to grandparents.
That means they have to apply to the courts even to get permission to request some sort of contact – a lengthy and expensive process.
Mr Clegg’s proposal to give them the right to apply for contact may raise concerns that access agreements will become over- complicated and onerous – for instance, if a mother has to agree to maintain contact with both an ex-husband and his parents.
But courts are expected to be allowed to continue to decide what is in a child’s best interests.
The plan will be welcomed by campaigners for grandparents’ rights, who have been arguing for years that their role in creating strong families should be better recognised.
Why it's time for families to come first - Nick Clegg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287250-0A118674000005DC-170_233x423.jpg
Childhood is meant to be carefree – a time of discovery, learning and adventure.
But for too many children in this country, those early years have become a time of stress, anxiety and insecurity.
Everyone remembers the shocking headlines about Britain having some of the unhappiest and unhealthiest children in the developed world.
We have a higher proportion of children living in poverty than most parts of Europe.
Almost half of our children have been bullied, teenage obesity is on the rise, and one in ten children suffer from a mental health disorder.
So it’s time that we, as a nation, asked ourselves how we can put this right.
This government has made it clear that getting the public finances in order is our number one priority, because we aren’t going to make our children pay the price for this generation’s mistakes.
We are going to pay down Britain’s budget deficit so we don’t condemn them to years of higher interest rates, poorer public services and fewer jobs.
But that’s only part of the picture. Safeguarding our children’s future must also mean rediscovering the spirit of childhood that has been badly lost. I know from my own life that a happy marriage and healthy children matter more than anything else.
The Government is going to be looking at how the value of marriage and civil partnerships can be reflected in the tax system.
That’s not something I campaigned for, but I do recognise why others feel so strongly.
But let’s be clear: it’s not up to governments to try and create happy families. Where we can help is by taking down the barriers that stop parents from giving their children the best upbringing possible.
Many parents struggle to juggle work and home. Many people no longer benefit from the traditional community networks that, in the past, meant relatives, neighbours and friends would be on hand to help.
And with children being bombarded by targeted advertising, it’s no surprise Mums and Dads feel under so much pressure to buy them the best trainers or the latest mobile phone.
This government wants to ease the pressure on parents. Not by meddling in people’s private business, but by giving families the freedom to make the right choices for themselves.
Obsessed with micromanaging daily life from the centre, the last government forgot what families really need.
They never understood that it isn’t just parents who raise a child – it’s the whole family, the whole street, the whole neighbourhood.
Why they wanted to vet anyone working with children – including parents taking it in turns to collect each others children from school sports matches.
This week we have halted those plans. Of course we need to keep our children safe, but we also have to keep a sense of proportion too.
And we need to get out of the habit of making families ever more dependent on the state.
Take tax credits. Under Labour, around nine out of ten families with children were eligible for child tax credits.
In other words, the last government thought 90 per cent of all families with children should be dependent on benefits.
That’s not right. Instead we should be giving families much more control over how they live their lives.
So we’re going to raise the income tax threshold so that families can keep more of the money they earn. And we will reform welfare to encourage people who can get off benefits into work.
That’s the way to really lift people out of poverty for good. But we need to go further.
That’s why today we are announcing a new Childhood and Families Task Force composed of senior ministers, chaired by the Prime Minister, to take action to remove some of the biggest hurdles that millions of families face every day.
One of those is giving young people places to go and children safe spaces to play.
That’s the only way to get kids off street corners. Children need spaces to play and we should be giving local communities more power to create them.
And families with disabled children need extra help, so let’s provide them with the respite care that can make a world of difference.
Any child’s happiness depends most, of course, on the happiness of their parents.
When marriages and relationships break down, a child’s whole world can collapse too. Strong, stable and loving families are the cornerstone of a happy childhood.
We all know the role grandparents can play in helping children through these difficult times.
But often grandparents don’t feel empowered to step in. That’s crazy, and it needs to change.
The Task Force will also work on making parental leave much more flexible, allowing parents to divvy the time up to better suit their needs, and allowing fathers to take a much more hands on role with their children when they’re young.
And we’ll focus on cracking down on the irresponsible advertising currently aimed at children.
I know as a father how disconcerting it is when your children remember the adverts better than the programme they have just watched.
Fixing our public finances is our biggest responsibility for protecting our children’s future, but it’s not our only responsibility – it’s time we take back childhood too.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287250/Grandparents-win-legal-right-role-absent-children-s-lives.html#ixzz0r46OeEBr
I'm not ashamed to admit i have not seen my best friend for a long time and i miss him.
It is almost certain that from being inseparable (13) i will never see him again.
All i can say is; God please watch over him for me.
By James Chapman (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=James+Chapman)
Last updated at 12:50 AM on 17th June 2010
Grandparents are to get sweeping legal rights as part of government plans to put ‘strong, stable and loving families’ back at the heart of British life.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says it is ‘crazy’ that millions of grandparents lose contact with their grandchildren after a family separation or divorce.
Ministers now plan to change the law to give greater access rights to grandparents when couples split. Mr Clegg, will set out his proposals in a speech on the family today.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287250-093F1B9E000005DC-386_468x340.jpg Family Values: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will stress the importance of grandparents contact with grandchildren
His reforms to help restore the ‘spirit of childhood’ that he says has disappeared for too many youngsters include:
• New rights for flexible parental leave.
•A crackdown on ‘irresponsible’ advertising and marketing aimed at children.
• A huge scaling back of Labour’s child tax credit in favour of income tax breaks.
• New powers for local communities to create and protect playgrounds and playing fields.
• Rights to respite care for parents with disabled children.
On grandparents, the Deputy Prime Minister says they play a vital role if marriages and relationships break down.
A government source added: ‘We recognise the important role that many grandparents play in children’s lives.
More...
Social services monitored Shannon Matthews's mother for 12 years, report reveals (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287081/Shannon-Matthews-Social-services-stopped-abduction-says-case-review.html)
THE LAST WORD by TONY HAZELL: We can't afford this! (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1286875/THE-LAST-WORD-TONY-HAZELL-We-afford-this.html)
‘We are looking at how to provide greater access rights to non-resident parents and grandparents when couples separate.’
Research suggests grandparents are increasingly relied upon by parents for help with childcare and family finances, and by older children for advice and support that they may not get at home.
But currently, they have no rights to maintain contact with grandchildren after a parental split.
Almost half face being cut off completely and never seeing their grandchildren again after a break-up, with those whose sons are involved in a split faring worst. The Children Act 1989 gave step-parents who have lived as part of a family for three years the right to apply for contact, but did not extend the same right to grandparents.
That means they have to apply to the courts even to get permission to request some sort of contact – a lengthy and expensive process.
Mr Clegg’s proposal to give them the right to apply for contact may raise concerns that access agreements will become over- complicated and onerous – for instance, if a mother has to agree to maintain contact with both an ex-husband and his parents.
But courts are expected to be allowed to continue to decide what is in a child’s best interests.
The plan will be welcomed by campaigners for grandparents’ rights, who have been arguing for years that their role in creating strong families should be better recognised.
Why it's time for families to come first - Nick Clegg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/17/article-1287250-0A118674000005DC-170_233x423.jpg
Childhood is meant to be carefree – a time of discovery, learning and adventure.
But for too many children in this country, those early years have become a time of stress, anxiety and insecurity.
Everyone remembers the shocking headlines about Britain having some of the unhappiest and unhealthiest children in the developed world.
We have a higher proportion of children living in poverty than most parts of Europe.
Almost half of our children have been bullied, teenage obesity is on the rise, and one in ten children suffer from a mental health disorder.
So it’s time that we, as a nation, asked ourselves how we can put this right.
This government has made it clear that getting the public finances in order is our number one priority, because we aren’t going to make our children pay the price for this generation’s mistakes.
We are going to pay down Britain’s budget deficit so we don’t condemn them to years of higher interest rates, poorer public services and fewer jobs.
But that’s only part of the picture. Safeguarding our children’s future must also mean rediscovering the spirit of childhood that has been badly lost. I know from my own life that a happy marriage and healthy children matter more than anything else.
The Government is going to be looking at how the value of marriage and civil partnerships can be reflected in the tax system.
That’s not something I campaigned for, but I do recognise why others feel so strongly.
But let’s be clear: it’s not up to governments to try and create happy families. Where we can help is by taking down the barriers that stop parents from giving their children the best upbringing possible.
Many parents struggle to juggle work and home. Many people no longer benefit from the traditional community networks that, in the past, meant relatives, neighbours and friends would be on hand to help.
And with children being bombarded by targeted advertising, it’s no surprise Mums and Dads feel under so much pressure to buy them the best trainers or the latest mobile phone.
This government wants to ease the pressure on parents. Not by meddling in people’s private business, but by giving families the freedom to make the right choices for themselves.
Obsessed with micromanaging daily life from the centre, the last government forgot what families really need.
They never understood that it isn’t just parents who raise a child – it’s the whole family, the whole street, the whole neighbourhood.
Why they wanted to vet anyone working with children – including parents taking it in turns to collect each others children from school sports matches.
This week we have halted those plans. Of course we need to keep our children safe, but we also have to keep a sense of proportion too.
And we need to get out of the habit of making families ever more dependent on the state.
Take tax credits. Under Labour, around nine out of ten families with children were eligible for child tax credits.
In other words, the last government thought 90 per cent of all families with children should be dependent on benefits.
That’s not right. Instead we should be giving families much more control over how they live their lives.
So we’re going to raise the income tax threshold so that families can keep more of the money they earn. And we will reform welfare to encourage people who can get off benefits into work.
That’s the way to really lift people out of poverty for good. But we need to go further.
That’s why today we are announcing a new Childhood and Families Task Force composed of senior ministers, chaired by the Prime Minister, to take action to remove some of the biggest hurdles that millions of families face every day.
One of those is giving young people places to go and children safe spaces to play.
That’s the only way to get kids off street corners. Children need spaces to play and we should be giving local communities more power to create them.
And families with disabled children need extra help, so let’s provide them with the respite care that can make a world of difference.
Any child’s happiness depends most, of course, on the happiness of their parents.
When marriages and relationships break down, a child’s whole world can collapse too. Strong, stable and loving families are the cornerstone of a happy childhood.
We all know the role grandparents can play in helping children through these difficult times.
But often grandparents don’t feel empowered to step in. That’s crazy, and it needs to change.
The Task Force will also work on making parental leave much more flexible, allowing parents to divvy the time up to better suit their needs, and allowing fathers to take a much more hands on role with their children when they’re young.
And we’ll focus on cracking down on the irresponsible advertising currently aimed at children.
I know as a father how disconcerting it is when your children remember the adverts better than the programme they have just watched.
Fixing our public finances is our biggest responsibility for protecting our children’s future, but it’s not our only responsibility – it’s time we take back childhood too.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287250/Grandparents-win-legal-right-role-absent-children-s-lives.html#ixzz0r46OeEBr
I'm not ashamed to admit i have not seen my best friend for a long time and i miss him.
It is almost certain that from being inseparable (13) i will never see him again.
All i can say is; God please watch over him for me.