In October 2025, the Government announced it intended to repeal the presumption that the involvement of a parent in a child’s life will further that child’s welfare. This presumption has been around since 2014 and has shaped family court decisions on child arrangements for over a decade. The proposed removal of the presumption marks a shift in the way courts will approach parents contact moving forward.

Why has the law changed?

Before the recent change, the law assumed that a child should have contact with both parents unless proven otherwise. Whilst this presumption could be rebutted, challenging it could be difficult, particularly if the risks involved were ‘hidden’ harms within families such as addiction, a history of abuse or involvement in criminality. In many cases, parents with these risks could continue to have contact with their child on some level.

In October 2025, the Ministry of Justice published a report providing guidance to the government on this presumption. The expert panel concluded that court practice, culture, case law and legislation have come together to create an approach focused on facilitating the involvement of both parents in a child’s life. The report highlighted that this created difficulty for the following reasons:

• Parents who were classified as ‘high risk’ often achieved direct contact with their child due to the presumption in favour of parental involvement.  Orders for no parental involvement or substantially restricted involvement were not routinely made by the court.
• This approach could result in a minimisation of domestic abuse, especially when that abuse was considered less serious or was histori,c and this could have a lifelong negative impact on a child.
• Current practices and procedures in child arrangement proceedings created barriers, preventing courts from obtaining the necessary information to fully assess the risks faced by children.

Now that this presumption has been repealed, what does this mean for parents seeking contact?

Parents seeking contact should be reassured that the courts' first and overriding consideration remains the welfare of the child/children. In many cases, this will still mean that contact with both parents is appropriate. The recent review confirmed that:

‘In general, the evidence identified was clear that the involvement of both parents following separation has a positive impact on a child’s welfare’.

Importantly, parents and children continue to hold their Article 8 right to respect for private and family life under the European Convention of Human Rights. This means family courts will still need to consider all alternatives before they conclude that no contact should take place.

When determining contact arrangements, the court will continue to consider:

1. The child’s welfare as the paramount consideration
2. The individual needs and specific family circumstances of each child.
3. The Welfare Checklist:

• The wishes and feelings of the child.
• The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs.
• The likely effect on the child of any change in circumstance.
• The child’s age, sex and background.
• Any harm the child has or is suffering.
• The capability of the parents (or other relevant people) to meet the child’s needs.
• Powers available to the court.

Read the full report here.

This change comes hot on the heels of the recent Pathfinder Pilot Scheme. You can read our blog post about the scheme here.