FNF Scotland calls for Scots family law to break free of adversarial model

Speaking at the organisation’s 2015 annual general meeting the national manager of FNF Scotland, Ian Maxwell, issued a call for a cultural change in both Scottish family law and the way that Scottish family courts operate.

He said: “The Children (Scotland) Act is now 20 years old. There is a need for fresh legislation in this area to reflect the significant changes that have taken place since 1995 in family structure and parenting roles.

“Scottish family law has been overtaken both by social and economic changes within families in Scotland and by government policy which now recognises more clearly the obligations of both parents to promote the wellbeing of their children and also their children’s right to family life.”

The annual general meeting heard that in the year 2014-15 FNF Scotland had close to 15,000 visitors to its website. Support and advice was given to over 1,500 individuals who made contact by phone or e mail or attended monthly support meetings in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh.

Mr Maxwell added: “The figures are disturbingly high for a small country that affects to be proud of its commitment to its children but our sense is that we are only touching the tip of an iceberg of distress and dissatisfaction.

“We hear repeatedly from fathers who feel they are ‘on trial’ when they seek meaningful involvement in their children’s lives after separation. The evidence from both Scotland and other countries such as Sweden suggests that the full involvement of both parents after they have separated leads to far better prospects for their children.

“Children in these families show better results in a wide range of measures from school performance, mental and physical health, and the ability to form stable relationships in adult life, compared with those raised by one parent alone.

“Family law needs changes to emphasise the importance of both parents taking responsibility, rather than one being the main carer and the other simply having occasional contact that doesn’t constitute meaningful parenting.”