Two fairly important updates for you. The first is a letter in response to my second Relocation Report which I and FNF presented at Parliament on 9th November 2010.
The reply comes from Lord McNally, Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, and Minister for State with responsibility for this area of law. Within his letter, he recognises the President of the Family Courts’ acceptance in the case D (A Child) that “too great an emphasis is placed on the wishes of the relocating parent”.
He goes on to say it would be premature for the Government to make any decisions about changing the substantive law on relocation while there is a review of the family justice system taking place. The review will produce an interim report in the Spring of 2011, with a final report following in Autumn 2011.
Chris Sandford, Secretariat to the Family Justice Review has confirmed that the Review Panel will be considering the evidence put forward in my report ‘Relocation: The Case for Reform’ as part of the review. We await their interim report with interest.
My sincere thanks to Rory Stewart MP for taking the matter up with both Lord McNally and the Family Justice Review panel.
Michael
