Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

I strongly support the view that has been expressed by both speakers. The current situation is not satisfactory, which is why we are spending hour after hour here, hammering away at this part of the Bill. Like the noble Earl, I view Clause 1 as not addressing the real problem. It addresses a small aspect of the problem, but not the real problem, which is to get more parents to agree, preferably between themselves, the way that they are going to work together to parent their child when they are living apart. I would rather not talk about contact; I would rather talk about parenting while living apart. Not all parents will be able to agree, and when they do not agree, it may be that some aspects of Clause 1 will have value, but they do not address the fundamental problem. The first objective of the Bill should be to get more parents to recognise their joint responsibility early, before they start squabbling too much, and to realise their joint wish to do their best for the child in nearly every case. Then we have to look at the process that might achieve that objective. I believe that that includes very early intervention, the early education of parents about the nature and problems of separate parenting, and early encouragement to reach agreement because it will be much worse if they go to court. At the moment, people feel that if they go to court they can probably get a better deal. The presumption of shared parenting being ordered by the court if they fail to agree can be a powerful motivation. Unless we improve the quality and quantity of shared parenting—not just access, but shared parenting—this part of the Bill will have failed.