According to government statistics over seven grandparents a day made court order applications in order to see a grandchild following a divorce or separation.
2014 saw 2,517 court applications made by grandparents for Child Arrangement Orders or Contact Orders to grant permission for a child to spend time with a named person.
The figures were revealed by Justice Minister, Simon Hughes.
“Government Must Take Blame”
A leading family charity has blamed the government for such a large number of appeals with the National Family Mediation (NFM) stating that they must take some responsibility.
Jane Robey, CEO of NFM, blamed changes to legal aid that means many grandparents can no longer take their case to court. She said: “A divorce or separation can shatter grandparents’ lives as much as the couple involved, because it can mean contact with the grandchildren they love is suddenly blocked,
“Making an approach to court should be used only as a last resort by anxious grandparents.
“The family court system is a huge expense to the taxpayer, and government must bear its share of the blame for the lack of information and education about alternative ways to resolve family disputes, including family mediation.
“The government says it wants to keep family disputes out or court wherever possible. It can certainly talk the talk, but it needs to do more to walk the walk.”
She added: “Yet legal aid does remain available for mediation.”
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