Don't fudge your responsibilities Mr Cameron to the children of this country.

The usual response to my letter to Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg:

Dear Ms Jackson

Thank you for your email of 14 February, addressed to the Prime Minister, regarding the Children and Families Bill. Your email has been passed to this department as we are responsible for the policy on family law. On this occasion, I have been asked to reply. I want to assure you that the government recognises that a father’s role in his child’s life is a very important one. The government strongly believes that children benefit from a continuing relationship with both parents following family separation, when it is appropriate and in the child’s best interests. It is for this reason that the government has included the parental involvement clause in the Children and Families Bill which is currently before Parliament. The clause makes clear the expectation that a child should have the opportunity to benefit from the involvement of each parent who can be involved safely, and whose involvement is consistent with the child’s welfare. The legislative framework which governs family law cases is gender neutral and is focused on the welfare of children, not on the ‘rights’ of parents. However, the government recognises that there is a perception of bias in the courts. One of the aims of the parental involvement amendment in the Children and Families Bill is to address this perception and help restore public confidence in the system. Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to us with your views.

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2014/0016170. If you need to respond to us, please visit: www.education.gov.uk/contactus, and quote your reference number. As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your comments via our website at: www.education.gov.uk/pcusurvey. Yours sincerely Tariq Khan Ministerial and Public Communications Division www.education.gov.uk