Family law shift – landmark repeal of the presumption of parental involvement in a child’s life
The below piece was originally written in 2025. Please note that there is no longer a statutory presumption of parental involvement following its repeal in April 2026.
The presumption of parental involvement in a child’s life (known as ‘the Presumption’) was inserted in the Children Act 1989 in 2014 (by the Children and Families Act 2014). After years of campaigning and extensive government reviews as to the impact this has had on families and children, on 21 October, the government has announced its plan to repeal the Presumption when parliamentary time allows.
This significant change has been hailed as a major success for campaigners and domestic abuse charities who have sought this breakthrough for many years to protect children from exposure to an abusive parent.
We have all seen the tragic stories in the press about families who have experienced the traumatic loss of children who have been killed or harmed by an abusive parent who was permitted to continue to have unsupervised contact with children even where there were substantiated allegations of previous abuse. The most prominent campaigner is Claire Throssell who has had to live with the fact that both her sons were killed by her partner even though she had provided evidence to the court that he had threatened to kill them and himself. She and others have channelled their energies into this campaign motivated by a desire to ensure that other children do not have to suffer in the same way. Families and professionals who work with children will be forever grateful for the tireless campaigning which has led to this change which it is hoped will have a significant and positive impact for children.
Since 2014 family courts have been required to apply a ‘presumption of parental involvement’ (section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989) which provides that in relation to child arrangements order applications the courts are to presume:
“that, unless the contrary is shown, the involvement of a parent in a child’s life will further that child’s welfare”
Although the Children Act 1989 also says at section 1(1) that a “child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration” when making decisions about children – the presumption of parental involvement (which can be through direct or indirect time with a child) has meant that from the outset of cases since 2014 this has been a dominant consideration for judges and legal professionals. Section 1(6) does confirm that this is a rebuttable presumption and would not apply if there is evidence to suggest that the involvement of a parent would put the child at risk of harm. However, it seems that all too often, the pressure to maintain relationships between parent and child arising from the presumption has led courts to leave ‘no stone unturned’ when trying to facilitate that relationship even where evidence to rebut the presumption may exist.
A substantial review was carried out by the Expert Panel on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases in 2020, and this in turn recommended an urgent review in 2023-24 as to whether the presumption of parental involvement should be removed to prevent further detriment to children exposed to abusive parents. A review was conducted looking at how courts in England & Wales applied the statutory presumption and to analyse the impact on children’s welfare when the courts applied the presumption of parental involvement. The detailed review which resulted in a final report published by the MOJ this month sets out and analyses the findings made after reviewing many court orders and judgments, interviewing professionals working with families and parents.
The review found that some cases analysed showed a ‘pro-contact’ culture which detracted from the court’s focus on the child’s individual welfare and safety. However, the findings also show that in many cases although judgments referred to the presumption it was often rebutted or only briefly mentioned. The review recognised that “courts are required to make complex decisions and judges and magistrates have to weigh up the potential harm of involvement with a parent who poses a risk of harm against the potential harm of not being able to have a relationship with that parent” (p.49 of the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement)
In some cases, applying the presumption has led to orders being made where children continue to have contact unsupervised or indirect involvement via video or written contact, with a parent who has been abusive to them and/or their other parent. Often this happened, because the presumption is applied and there is no evidence of the abuse in support of genuine allegations made. Often the allegations of abuse by the other parent are dismissed as being a form of parental alienation and this has led to parents and children suffering further abuse and parents fearful of making applications in case they are not believed and make an already terrible situation for their children worse.
The paramountcy principle (i.e. that a child’s welfare must be the court’s paramount consideration taking priority over other factors in a case) remains the most important consideration for the courts. There are other factors in the ‘welfare checklist’ to be considered too when courts make orders about children. However, it is clear from the outcome of the review that the presumption placed a positive duty on judges to promote involvement between a child and a parent and to consider all options before ordering that a parent would have no involvement with a child, i.e. ‘leaving no stone unturned’. This also reflects the provisions of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects the right to private and family life.
The Presumption Review (October 2025) concludes that “the courts were …left with a partial picture of the child’s life when determining the type and frequency of parental involvement and potentially risked the court being unable to effectively assess potential harms”. The implication is that there should be greater participation of children in private law proceedings and a “sensitive approach to hearing and responding to their views.” It is to be hoped that following the repeal of the Presumption that there will be far fewer cases where children are exposed to harm from an abusive parent who is able to have involvement with them through a court order despite evidence that this would be detrimental to them.
In line with other family law processes and procedures, it seems clear from the findings of the review which led to the recommendation to repeal of the presumption of parental involvement, that that the voice of the child has to be an essential factor in any decision-making process to ensure that children are adequately safeguarded to minimise the risk of harm to them.
https://www.familylawpartners.co.uk/blog/the-voice-of-the-child/.
Sarah-Jane Riddell is a Senior Associate Solicitor at our Brighton office.