Petition · past parliament
Update Children's Act 1989 Introduce Presumption of shared parenting
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
UK Family Law is in urgent need of reform. When proceedings involve children, Judges and parents are at the mercy of a horribly outdated piece of legislation (CA 1989). The needs of children are not met and parents are forced into an adversarial contest in which the children almost always lose out
The Children's Act 1989 needs an update. The 2014 updates were not well thought through and based on poorly drafted studies (Norgrove report)
On family breakdown, research proves that children fare far better in a co parent environment
The model of family life is no longer confined to mother as homemaker and father as breadwinner
Children deserve to have an equal relationship with both parents in the event of family breakdown. This should be enshrined in law. Abolish the term "primary carer".
On family breakdown, research proves that children fare far better in a co parent environment
The model of family life is no longer confined to mother as homemaker and father as breadwinner
Children deserve to have an equal relationship with both parents in the event of family breakdown. This should be enshrined in law. Abolish the term "primary carer".
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 19 Dec 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 20 Dec 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
20 Dec 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.