My Lords, I am very pleased to follow my noble friend in this debate, not least because well over two years ago, when this legislation was first mooted, I went to see her as the oracle on matters to do with the welfare of children. I said that the Government were thinking of legislating in this area, and I remember that she gave me very clear marching orders—whatever else the Government did, it must be clear that the paramountcy of the welfare of the child should be ingrained in this legislation. I have certainly taken that to heart as this legislation has passed through.
It is also true, as has been indicated and as the noble Baroness, Lady Hughes of Stretford, referred to, that we learnt lessons from the Australian legislation and we have listened to what has been said as this Bill has moved through both Houses. We have been trying consciously to get the balance right. When we were talking about the misrepresentation in the press, there was an opinion that the legislation as it stood was biased in favour of the mother. What we have been trying to do in this legislation is to have wording that gives a very clear guide that, where possible, and as my noble friend Lady Walmsley has just indicated, it is in the interests of the welfare of the child that both parents should be involved.
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I would like to make a very clear statement for the official record of the House that this change is absolutely not about any particular division of a child’s time. The Explanatory Notes to the Bill state explicitly that:
“It is not the purpose of this amendment to promote the equal division of a child’s time between separated parents”.
The Government have made this very clear in previous debates. There is nothing in this clause that could be read to give that impression. I fully accept that separating parents, particularly at a time of great emotional stress, are hardly going to consult Hansard or the relevant clause of a parliamentary Bill. I therefore accept that my noble friend is right; the media have a responsibility to report the intentions of this Bill properly and not to present it in a way that would give either parent a belief that this is equal-time parenting or anything else. It is still an attempt to encourage both parents to be involved in the future of their children, but in a way that safeguards the welfare of those children. As noble Lords know, part of the aim of this policy is to address this perception that the courts are biased against one parent, generally fathers.