Academics have analysed the proposed legislation in light of research evidence on shared parenting
Proposed legislation to introduce and enforce a presumption of shared parenting time for separating couples is not in the interests of children, according to a briefing paper published by the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford. The term 'shared parenting' has no legal status but generally refers to a child spending an equal amount of time with each parent. Two Private Members' Bills currently before Parliament seek to introduce and enforce a default position that children should spend a substantial amount of time with both parents in the event of separation. The Shared Parenting Orders Bill is currently scheduled for a second reading on 17 June. With funding from the Nuffield Foundation, academics from the University of Oxford and Australia have analysed the proposed legislation in light of research evidence on shared parenting, with particular reference to Australia, which introduced similar legislation in 2006. They conclude: *Introducing a default presumption that children should spend a substantial amount of time with both parents would overturn the provision in the Children Act 1989 that the welfare of the child should be paramount in deciding contact issues. *There is no empirical evidence that increasing the amount of time spent with a non-resident parent improves outcomes for children.
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