{"id":10723,"date":"2017-06-13T12:10:55","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T11:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=10723"},"modified":"2025-06-30T19:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:11:24","slug":"tories-promise-family-courts-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/tories-promise-family-courts-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Tories promise family courts reform"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This<\/a>
This protest at Edward Timpson’s home in May led to a manifesto commitment on reform of the family courts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Conservative Party promised reform of the family courts in their manifesto following a rooftop protest.<\/p>\n

It is of course open to argument whether the manifesto commitment was a response to the\u00a0protest at the home of Edward Timpson. \u00a0Mr Timpson was Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in the previous government. \u00a0It follows he had responsibility for social services, child protection and to some extent the operation of the family courts.<\/p>\n

Protest<\/h2>\n

The protest, on 8th May, was carried out by an aggrieved father who has fought a long campaign to be reunited with his son.<\/p>\n

We reported on the father’s case in January when the local authority tried to have him imprisoned<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for contempt of court.<\/p>\n

Medway Council asked\u00a0a court to jail ‘EL’ for contempt after he posted a picture of his in-care son online. \u00a0Instead circuit Judge Richard Scarratt imposed a suspended sentence.<\/p>\n

HIs Honour instructed this author that we may only refer to the father as \u2018EL\u2019 and the son as \u2018J\u2019.<\/p>\n

That is because of secrecy rules the family court employs to protect the reputation of the courts and local authorities.<\/p>\n

The local paper reported on the 8th May protest here<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0And additionally here<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Other parents have left\u00a0comments which are worth reading.<\/p>\n

Manifesto Commitment on Family Courts<\/h2>\n

Theresa May published her manifesto ten days after the protest, on 18th May. \u00a0In it, she said:<\/p>\n

\u2018Protecting vulnerable children and families’.
\n\u2018Placing a child under the oversight of social services and taking a child into care are amongst the most serious duties the state may discharge.’
\n\u2018We will demand all local authorities be commissioners of the highest-quality family support and child protection services, removing these responsibilities from the weakest councils and placing them in trust.
\n\u2018Finally, we shall explore ways to improve the family justice system. The family courts need to do more to support families, valuing the roles of mothers and fathers, while ensuring parents face up to their responsibilities.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, the Tories were the only party to commit to any such reform. \u00a0That in itself lends support to the view that the commitment was a direct result of EL’s\u00a0rooftop protest.<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/a>
Laura Smith is the new Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, winning by just 48 votes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, the manifesto commitment did not save Mr Timpson’s seat. \u00a0He lost Crewe and Nantwich to Labour’s Laura Smith<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mrs Smith overturned a 3,620 majority. \u00a0She won the seat by 48 votes.<\/p>\n

Court appearances<\/h2>\n

The police placed the father involved on police bail pending a court charge in September. \u00a0However, Medway Council are taking him\u00a0to court again this Thursday 15th.<\/p>\n

A judge will hear the case at Canterbury County Court. \u00a0The Council seek to commit the father to prison for contempt of court this time after he named a social worker online. \u00a0As it happens, he is perfectly entitled to do so under the law.<\/p>\n

Click on any of the links below to share this article:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Conservative Party promised reform of the family courts in their manifesto following a rooftop protest. It is of course open to argument whether the manifesto commitment was a response to the\u00a0protest at the home of Edward Timpson. \u00a0Mr Timpson was Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families\u00a0in the previous government. \u00a0It follows he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,52,184],"tags":[3217,1696,15,1465,3216,3214,968,3099,3215,3067,2357,2377,967,1532,43,555,3100],"class_list":["post-10723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice-policing-crime","category-social-services-child-abduction","category-uk-christian-constitution","tag-canterbury-county-court","tag-child-protection","tag-christian-voice","tag-conservative-party","tag-crewe-and-nantwich","tag-edward-timpson","tag-family-courts","tag-family-division","tag-laura-smith","tag-manifesto","tag-medway-council","tag-richard-scarratt","tag-sir-james-munby","tag-social-services","tag-stephen-green","tag-theresa-may","tag-transparency"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t