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IMPROVING FAMILY LAW IN SCOTLAND: ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN CONSULTATION RESPONSES
ANNEX ONE CONSULTATION PAPER ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
Local Authorities
Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
Argyll & Bute Council
Clackmannanshire Council
Comhairle Nan Eilean
Dumfries & Galloway Council
Dundee Council
East Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Lothian Council
East Renfrewshire Council
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Glasgow City Council
Inverclyde Council
Midlothian Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Orkney Islands Council
Perth & Kinross Council
Renfrewshire Council
Scottish Borders Council
Shetland Islands Council
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Stirling Council
The City of Edinburgh Council
The Highland Council
The Moray Council
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council
Family Mediation Groups
Counselling and Family Mediation Western Isles
Family Mediation Borders
Family Mediation Central
Family Mediation Grampian
Family Mediation Highland
Family Mediation Lothian
Family Mediation Orkney
Family Mediation Scotland
Family Mediation Scotland
Family Mediation Tayside
Family Mediation West
Charities
Aberdeen's Women's Centre
Aberlour Child Care Trust
ACT
Age Concern Scotland
Argyll & Bute Women's Aid
Barnados
CALM
CARE for Scotland
Child Poverty Action Group
Childline Scotland
Children 1st
Children in Scotland
East Ayrshire Women's Aid
Equality Network
Families Need Fathers
Fife Domestic Abuse Forum
Gay Dads Scotland
Glasgow Women's Aid
Help the Aged
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
LGBT Youth Scotland
NCH Scotland
One Parent Families Scotland
One Parent Families Scotland
One plus: One parent families
Reach Out Highland
Salvation Army
Save the children
Scottish Disability Equality Forum
Shelter Scotland
Stepfamily Scotland
Stirling Women's Aid
Faith Groups
Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Bishops Conference of Scotland
Catholic Church
Christian Institute
Diocese of Paisley
Free Church of Scotland
Galloway Diocese
Glasgow Beth Din
Muslim Groups
Scottish Council of Jewish communities
Scottish Episcopal Church
Scottish Inter Faith Council
Scottish Interfaith Council
Shotts E U Congregational Church
The Church of Scotland
The Evangelical Alliance
Legal Groups
Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
Brodies WS
Citizens Advice Scotland
Convenor of Sheriffs principal
Dundee North Law Centre law centre
Faculty of Advocates
Family Law Association
Federation of Synagogues
Grigor & Young
Law Society of Scotland
Loudons WS
Macleod & Maccallum
Morton Fraser
Principal reporter of Children's panel
Russels Gibson McCaffrey
Scottish Child Law Centre
Scottish Children's Mission
Scottish Children's Reporter
Scottish Court Service
Scottish Law Agents Society
Scottish Law Commission
Scottish Legal Aid Board
Scottish Sheriff Court Users Group
Seagrave & Co
Sheriffs Principal
Stonewall Scotland
The Scottish Legal Aid Board
The Sheriffs' Association
WS Society
Universities
University of Dundee
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow
University of Paisley
University of Stirling
University of Strathclyde
Counselling services
Couple Counselling Grampian
Couple Counselling Scotland
Glasgow Marriage Counselling Service
Lothian Marriage Counselling Service
Lothian marriage counselling service
Marriage Counselling Fife
Marriage Counselling Tayside
Scottish Marriage Care
MISC
All Scottish MEP's
Association of Registrars of Scotland
BAAF Scotland
British Agency for adoption and fostering
British Association for Adoption and Fostering
c/o SCVO
Central Scotland Racial Equality Council
Children and Family Care Standing Committee
Children in Scotland
Clerk of the committee
CoSLA
COTS
Delta Project
Equal Opportunities Commission
George IV Bridge
Glasgow Women's Library
Members of Adoption Policy Review
National Board for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting for Scotland
Outright Scotland
Parliamentary Libraries
Positive Action in Housing
Professional Association of Teachers
Scottish Civic Forum
Scottish Council for Single Homeless
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Scottish Parent Teacher Council
Scottish Women's Aid
Scottish Youth Parliament
SPICe
Tayside Racial Equality Council
The Association of Registrars of Scotland
The Fostering Network
The WS Society
UK College of Family Mediators, Scottish committee
UK Men's Movement
Walker Laird
ANNEX TWO SUMMARY OF THE CONSULTATION POINTS
SECTION 6 OF CONSULTATION PAPER
On the basis of previous consultations, there are a number of firm proposals which the Executive plans to include in a future Family Law Bill. The major provisions are: - conferring parental rights and responsibilities on unmarried fathers who jointly register the birth of their child with the mother following commencement of new legislation; and
- reducing the periods of non-cohabitation required to constitute grounds for divorce from 2 years to 1 year with consent and 5 years to 2 years without consent.
Other firm proposals for the Bill are updating domestic abuse provisions, and some minor technical amendments to existing family law. Are there any views you want to record in relation to these firm proposals? |
The Executive thinks that there should be legal safeguards for cohabiting couples and that the Scottish Law Commission recommendations strike the balance between addressing the legal vulnerability of many cohabiting couples in Scotland and not creating an unjustified and unwieldy legal framework which interferes unduly with the private lives of individuals and which fails to acknowledge the special place of marriage in society. Do you agree that cohabiting couples should have some legal protection? Do you consider that the objective is to create legal safeguards rather than a comprehensive package of rights and responsibilities like marriage? Do you agree that there should be a presumption of equal shares to household goods and money/property from housekeeping acquired during the period of cohabitation? Do you agree that a former cohabitee should have the right to apply to the court for financial provision where they have suffered undue financial hardship on the termination of their cohabitation arrangement? Do you agree that on the death of one party to a cohabiting partnership, the surviving cohabitee should be able to apply to the court for provision out of the deceased's estate? Do you agree that legal safeguards should be for people who live together as a couple? Are there any other points that you would like to make in relation to the law and cohabiting couples in Scotland? |
A proposed change in the law is that where a married step-parent wishes to secure PRRs for their step-child and both birth parents are in agreement, that Step-Parent Parental Responsibility and Rights Agreement (SPPRRA) can be completed and registered in the Books of Council and Session and that that action will confer PRRs on the step-parent. Do you agree that provision to create SPPRRAs should be introduced? How can the views of children be factored into SPPRRAs? As an alternative, what improvements could be introduced to step-parents going to court to secure PRRs to make this less daunting? |
There has been pressure to introduce a right of contact for grandparents. The Executive does not consider this to be appropriate but is keen to canvass all views on how the difficult area of promoting contact with wider family can best be achieved where voluntary agreements can't be reached. Do you agree that a right of contact to a child is not appropriate for grandparents and other wider family members? How can the Executive best promote continued contact between children and wider family where voluntary agreements prove elusive? |
There are a number of dimensions to making the law work in practice and your views are sought on these. An information campaign will accompany changes in family law since a basic prerequisite for family law to be effective is that people understand their rights and responsibilities. What are your views on the issues to be covered in information on family law and how can this best be disseminated. A range of support is available for families in difficulties or transition such as mediation and counselling. We would be interested to know if consultees see ways in which the voluntary sector contribution to securing good outcomes for families can be strengthened; and in suggestions for further ways in which the complementary skills of counsellors and mediators can be mobilised locally to support families in transition. When people do have cause to interact with the law, we believe that legal remedy should be accessible and easy to comprehend. We would be interested in hearing consultees' experience of using the law in relation to family matters and ideas for improvements which might be made. |
ANNEX THREE LIST OF ORGANISATION RESPONSES
Individuals
Responses containing individual rather than organisational views were received from 219 respondents. To preserve anonymity of these individual respondents their names have been withheld.
Local Government
Aberdeenshire Council, Director for Housing and Social Work
Angus Council
Dundee City Council
East Ayrshire Council Social Work Department
East Renfrewshire Council Community and Leisure Department
Glasgow City Council Social Work Services
North Lanarkshire Council
Orkney Islands Council
Renfrewshire Council Social Work Department
South Lanarkshire Council
State of Guernsey Health and Social Services Department
Stirling Council Corporate Services
West Dumbartonshire Council
Family Mediation Groups
Family Mediation Highland
Family Mediation Lothian
Family Mediation Scotland
Scottish Mediation Network
UK College of Family Mediators
Charities
Aberlour Child Care Trust
Barnados Scotland
CALM
Care for Scotland
Childline Scotland
Children 1st
Children in Scotland
COTS
Families Need Fathers
Glasgow Homelessness Network
Grandparents Action Group
Grandparents Apart Self Help Kilmarnock
Grandparents group - name not provided on response
Humanist Society of Scotland
LGBT Youth Scotland
NCH Scotland
One Parent Families Scotland
Rainbow Families Highland
Salvation Army
Save the Children
Stepfamily Scotland
Stonewall Scotland
UK Men's Movement
Faith Groups
Baptist Union of Scotland
Bishop's Conference for Scotland
Christian Outreach Centre Inverness
Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility
Clackmannan Parish Church
Evangelical Alliance Scotland
Free Church of Scotland
Methodist Church
Mothers Union
Parish Minister Queens Park Parish, Glasgow
Presbytery of West Lothian
Scottish Christian People's Alliance
Shotts EH Congregational Church
United Reformed Church
Legal organisations and representatives
Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
Faculty of Advocates
Family Law Association
Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB)
Law Society of Scotland - Family Law Sub-Committee
Lindsay and Kirk Solicitors, Aberdeen
Morton Fraser Solicitors
Perth CAB 4-12
Scottish Child Law Centre
Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Scottish Legal Aid Board
Sheridans Solicitor
Universities/Academics
Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, Edinburgh University
Counselling Services
Couple Counselling Fife
Couple Counselling Lothian
Couple Counselling Scotland
Couple Counselling Tayside
Glasgow Marriage Counselling Service
Scottish Marriage Care
Political
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish National Party
NHS Boards
NHS Lanarkshire
Miscellaneous
British Agency for Adoption and Fostering Scotland
Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland
Outright Scotland
Professional Association of Teachers
Scottish Civic Forum
Scottish Civic Forum (public meetings)
Scottish Council for Single Homeless
Scottish Women's Aid
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