Parliamentary debates & papers 2010-24: Westminster & Holyrood

Note that in the main the Parliamentary debates and papers on the matter were often with a public law* rather than private law** angle, with a restricted view of what constitutes the type of grandchild-grandparent relationship to be protected i.e. only where the state has care needs for a grandchildren.

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Important points:

• Almost all of the below parliamentary activity relates to the right of the grandparent having contact with their grandchild.

• There is very little specific parliamentary activity aligning with the short and long term psychological and physical wellbeing of the grandchild at any age. 

• It also focuses mainly on one typology i.e. No. 2, that of the separating or divorcing parents: the other six grandchild typologies are almost not reflected here at all.

• Note that the Children Act 1989 stipulates that contact (with parents) is a right of the child i.e. not the parent. 

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*Private law = in relation to internal family issues e.g. divorce, relationships, contact, residence

**Public law = in relation to safeguarding of children and young people e.g. care orders, child protection investigations

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• On 23 Oct 2024, the House of Commons' library produced a casework paper here summarising the legal route for grandparents to secure reconnection with their grandchild. It outlines the family mediation, leave to apply, and child arrangement order (CAO) steps. Note that it is a very small minority of grandparents who utilise a formal or legal route to maintain their relationship with their grandchild i.e. approx 0.15% using the family courts, with no data at all for grandparent-parent-grandchild family mediation. Anecdotally we know not all CAO applications result in maintenance of the grandchild-grandparent relationship (and some CAOs may be letterbox grandchild-grandparent contact only). There are no figures available for CAOs secured by grandparents since 2016,

• On 1 August 2024, Cafcass issued Family Court Advisor (FCA) guidance for both public and private family law cases. This guidance clarified how adults around a child or young person such as grandparents may be included in assessments.  

• On 30 Jan - 1 Feb 2024, Lorraine Bushell OBE held a Westminster Exhibition to increase awareness of the issue and its impact on both grandchildren and grandparents. Matthew Offord MP was progressing a grandchild APPG set-up at the time the general election was called in Spring 2024.

• On 16 May 2023, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP raised the matter in the House of grandparents having 'right to access' grandchildren and as per Hansard here. The debate reverted to special guardianship orders only however i.e. kinship care.

• On 1st October 2020, the The Children (Scotland) Bill became law in Scotland. Although this legislation did not include a right of contact for a grandchild with his/her grandparent, it was based on alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) where the implementation handbook defines grandparents within the term 'family'. The pre-Bill consultation in 2018 did include whether a child young person should have this right as a specific point.

• On 27 February 2020, a research briefing on parental alienation was published by the Westminster Library i.e. Children: parental alienation and the role of Cafcass (England) following Cafcass guidance in October 2018. The full report is available here. Note that a) parental alienation in 2026 remains a dispute4d term and b) this reflects only one of the seven grandchild typologies we have found.

• On 10 Feb 2020, the House of Commons' library produced a briefing paper here on child arrangement orders in relation to grandparent applications. This supersedes this 2020 paper. The briefing paper was informed by this research briefing on child arrangements orders (CAOs) in the family court in relation to grandparent applications. This latter document reiterated the Nuffield Family Justice Review report in 2011 that such applications required a leave-to-apply step to safeguard the grandchild and their family.  

• On 2 May 2018, Nigel Huddleston MP called for the Government to introduce an amendment to the Children Act 1989, to enshrine in law the child’s right to have a relationship with their grandparents by adding the words “and extended family” or “and any grandparents” to the section on parental involvement in relation to the welfare of the child as per Hansard here with debate pack here

• On 25 April 2017, David Mackintosh MP led a debate on the importance of grandparents to grandchildren and as per Hansard here with debate pack here and a Green Paper was due to follow. The Nuffield Family Justice Board 2011 paper referred to in the debate is here - and the section referred to in the debate i.e. s4.46 on p142 of the report states: 'As a matter of principle we agree with the many in the call for evidence who argued that just as contact is a right of the child not of the parents so also grandparents do not have a ‘right’ to contact. We noted in our interim report research showing that grandparents are unlikely to lose contact with a grandchild if they had meaningful contact whilst the parental relationship was still in being and if they resist taking sides after the separation.*** We do not believe that courts refuse leave unreasonably or that seeking leave is slow or expensive for grandparents. Rather, the requirement to seek leave prevents hopeless or vexatious applications that are not in the interests of the child.' Note again that in Scotland there is no requirement for grandparents to seek leave to avoid making a hopeless or vexatious application.

• On 31 January 2017, Lorraine Bushell OBE held a lobby day at Westminster to increase Parliamentarians' awareness of the issue and its impact on both grandchildren and grandparents.

• On 6 December 2015, Jake Berry MP asked a question on how many grandparents have sought child arrangement orders (CAOs) from the family courts to maintain their relationship with their grandchild. The numbers, compared to extent of grandchild-grandparent disconnection found in our 2022 Savanta survey i.e. 1 in 7 grandparents (equivalent to approximately 2 million grandparents) is very small i.e. 0.15%. The numbers drop markedly from 2014 onwards when family mediation was made a mandatory requirement before a CAO application, and we know from Cafcass data that grandparents applications have remained at approximately 1500 p.a. since (to 2022).  

• On 18 September 2015, a research briefing was published highlighting the need for family court proceedings confidentiality ie Confidentiality and openness in the family courts: current rules and history of their reform (mainly public law with some private law aspects).

• On 20 February 2015, the now-Lord Blunkett asked a question in relation to family break-ups and grandchild & grandparents. The response appears to deal with grandchildren in the care of grandparents, rather than the grandchild-grandparent relationship per se.

• On 15 February 2015, Steve McCabe MP asked a question in relation to maintaining their relationship with their grandchild in cases of parental divorce here. The response appears to indicate that grandparents are not disadvantaged in the maintaining it due to having recourse for leave to apply to the family court. Note that in Scotland, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 does not require this additional step or 'sift'. 

• In November 2011, the Family Justice Board under the new Conservative / Liberal Government published the Family Justice Review Panel report on both public and private law in relation to children and young people. As well as the fragmented and distrustful nature of the family justice system, children and young people in private law cases (such as parent / grandparent contact arrangements) were found to be waiting on average 32 weeks i.e. 8 months for a decision: an awfully long time in a child or young person's life and growth & development.

• In January 2010, the Labour Government published its green paper 'Support for All: the Families and Relationships Green Paper' for which the consultation closed due to the May 2010 general election. The paper can be found here.

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***This reference is a report undertaken in 2004 where the study's findings indicate that a grandparent is often disruptive and partisan during and following their adult child's divorce. We believe this is now an outdated perspective given the range of grandchild typologies we are finding around the country and the increasing influence of social media 'professionals' and others.