Petition · past parliament · Ministry of Justice
Prevent family courts and social services making decisions based on hearsay
Closed
71 signatures
What the petition asks
At present social services and courts can take decisions about family matters based on hearsay, which is not normally admissible as evidence. This means that families can be torn apart based solely on hearsay.
This can have dreadful results leading to torment and psychological effect on children and parents.
Children should only ever be removed from a family if there is unambiguous evidence of harm. It is fundamentally cruel what is happening here in the UK and change is long overdue.
It can happen to someone in any family.
Children should only ever be removed from a family if there is unambiguous evidence of harm. It is fundamentally cruel what is happening here in the UK and change is long overdue.
It can happen to someone in any family.
Timeline
| 10 Aug 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 10 Feb 2022 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
71
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Justice
Opened
10 Aug 2021
Closed
10 Feb 2022
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.