Withington Methodist Church

Contact centres and the family courts

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Recent media reports have highlighted the plight of children in families that have separated due to domestic violence.  Very often the courts grant the abusive partners unsupervised access to the children, and there is mounting evidence that this could be putting many children at risk.

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Unfortunately, courts often have limited options.  Who's going to supervise the contact between parent and child?  Family or friends on either side are often unwilling or are mistrusted.  Professionals are expensive: who's going to pay?  Austerity has had a massive impact on funding.

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While the media has highlighted domestic violence, the same questions arise in many separations where there wasn't domestic violence, but where parents don't trust each other.

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Where can they go for impartial and safe supervision of contact?

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The Withington Child Contact Centre is one such place.  We're part of a network of contact centres across the country.  But this network has contracted sharply in recent years.  In 2012 there were roughly 15 child contact centres serving the Greater Manchester area, while today there are roughly 3.  Cuts in funding the Covid pandemic were major factors in most closures.  Waiting times at centres have increased markedly.