Cardiff Council calls on public bodies not to discriminate against separated parents

Cardiff Council is to call on all public bodies it deals with not to “discriminate” against parents who do not live with their children, the BBC has reported.

The local authority also intends to write to all other councils in Wales, asking them to agree the same principle.

This follows a full council meeting earlier this month, where councillors voted in favour of a motion supporting the duties and principles enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and specifically Articles 9.3 and 18.2.

• Article 9.3. states: “Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests.”
• Article 18.2 states: “For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the present Convention, states Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children.”

The motion also instructed council officers to write to the Assembly Minister for Education, asking him to proactively ensure all school governing bodies in Wales are aware of guidance issued in 2007 on how to deal with divorced or separated parents.

The move comes after complaints from parents that schools, hospitals and GPs surgeries will often only give information to parents living with children.

Two fathers whose children both had fits in school said they were not informed of the incidents because they did not live with the child, according to the BBC.

Campaigners for non-resident parents said the way forward was a presumption of “shared parenting” in the event of separation or divorce, rather than an assumption that only the parent with whom a child lives has full responsibility.

David Evans, Welsh Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said schools had to put the rights of the child ahead of the rights of a parent. He called on Cardiff Council to issue “clear guidance”.