September 2020 News
We have been working with the Scottish Government for the last 2 years in the build up to updating the Children (Scotland) Act; changes which are expected to become law in Scotland in 2021.
There are to be no changes to the legal position in the relationship between grandchildren and grandparents as the Government believe allowing grandchildren to have a right of contact with grandparents will ‘cut across’ the best interest of the child principle. We don’t understand this logic when the right would have been the child’s right to choose.
However alongside the legal changes to the Act the Government have created the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy which covers non legal changes and aims to improve things in support of what they say is the ‘important relationship’ between grandchildren and their grandparents. Only time will tell if this is enough to improve the lives of our grandchildren.
Please let us know if you are finding any change in the attitude of professionals dealing with families e.g. Social Services, Solicitors, Courts, Health Workers etc. as there is a commitment to retraining and monitoring these services.
If you are a grandparent and are cast aside unjustly by any of these, or any other professionals, please contact your MSP to let them know that the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy is not enough to protect children.
The Family Justice Modernisation Strategy is available at www.gov.scot
Please see information in our News section for more information on this topic.