Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage calls for greater rights for children to see grandparents after parents split

Caroline Dinenage in the House of Commons

During questions to the justice secretary in parliament, Caroline Dinenage also pushed the minister, Mike Freer MP, for the government to appoint an Older Person's Commissioner.

The Gosport MP and former justice minister, stated that England should be following the lead of other UK nations in order that the issue of grandparental alienation, and a range of other vital matters affecting older people, can be better represented.

Ms Dinenage asked Mr Freer: ‘We know that the bond with a grandparent can be one of the most precious relationships in a child's life, and yet so often in the adult wars of family breakdown, children are a weapon and actions by grandparents through the family court are incredibly expensive and quite frequently fruitless.

‘What more can the department do to give grandchildren that right to see their grandparents? And isn't it about time that we followed the example of Scotland, who have an Older Person's Minister and Northern Ireland & Wales, who have an Older Person's Commissioner, to take up issues just like this one?’

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Whilst the minister advised that an Older Person’s Commissioner would be a matter for the prime minister he did add that legal aid eligibility extensions could help grandparents in guaranteeing their rights to access to grandchildren. He said: ‘In terms of addressing the issue of access for grandparents it's well recognised that we recently extended the ability of legal aid for special guardianship orders which may well be accessible for grandparents to ensure that they get SGO’s to guarantee their rights of access.”

She added: ‘This is something I intend to take up with Number 10. There are 11m people aged over 65 in England alone – we have an aging population, but no single voice to champion their interests, which often end up slipping through the net due to their cross-departmental nature. There is a Children's Commissioner, but no one with the same legal powers to stand up for older people.’

Ms Dinenage has previously raised the issue of grandchildren's rights after a meeting with former Lord Chancellor, Dominic Raab in the Ministry of Justice to explore the suggestion further.