Family Law as Social Policy

Family Law as Social Policy Presented by: Prof Rob George Date: 20 March 2025, 6:00 pm–7:00 pm What Is Family Law? - Holmes-Moorhouse v Kingston upon Thames LBC [2009] UKHL 7, [2009] 1 WLR 413, [38] (Lady Hale) • Family court orders 'are not meant to be aspirational statements of what would be for the best in some ideal world which has little prospect of realization' - Prof Linda Hantrais (FAMILY POLICY MATTERS: Responding to family change in Europe) • 'Definitions of family policy are often extended to encompass policies implemented in other areas that may have an impact on families' - Prof Carol Smart ('family law [is] a key instance of family policy') • - 'Family law [is] a key instance of family policy' John Eekelaar (2000) • 'Although from the individual citizen's point of view, social and legal rules are quite distinct, in practice social rules may be as significant as legal rules' - Ira Ellman (2003) • - The family is 'a sphere rich with nonlegal obligations that people take seriously' Prof Mary Ann Glendon (1981) • policy-makers 'enshrine in the law several competing values, hoping perhaps that out of the dynamics of this uneasy coexistence some hew, more satisfactory synthesis will eventually emerge' - Prof Alison Diduck (2003) • English divorce law shows 'many contradictory assumptions about the nature of the marriage relationship and about the individuals within the relationship' - Law reform doesn't always produce the behavioral changes the policy-maker hoped to achieve. - Law altering eligibility for accessing a legal status - e.g. Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 2008, Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Law As Message-Setting Divorce Law: Saving Marriage - Prof Alison Diduck (2003) • 'Whether divorce law is the best place to advance a marriage-saving agenda is a matter of debate' The Parental Involvement Presumption - Children Act 1989, s 1(2A) • A court ... is as respects each parent within subsection (6)(a) to presume, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of that parent in the life of the child concerned will further the child's welfare. - Tim Laughton MP, 2012 Minister for Children • '... dads wish to be much more involved in their child's upbringing. The Government are doing much to encourage that societal change, promoting fathers as equal parents and encouraging them to be fully involved with their children from the earliest stages of their lives - Children and Families Act 2014, s 13(6) • The court may give permission [for expert evidence in children cases] only if the court is of the opinion that the expert evidence is necessary to assist the court to resolve the proceedings justly. - Children Act 1989, s 31(3A) (as amended) • A court deciding whether to make a care order (a) is required to consider the permanence provisions of the section 31A plan for the child concerned, but  (b) is not required to consider the remainder of the section 31A plan... Social And Health Characteristics Of Mothers Involved In Family Court Care Proceedings In England - 18% | average drop in local authority budget - 26% for most deprived areas - 30% | increase in use of secure accommodation - 20% | increase in cost of each general children's home placement - 67% | cut in funding for Sure Start - 70% | cut in funding for youth centers