What is the welfare checklist and what is its importance?

Parents can make decisions about what will happen with their children and carry out the agreement amicably. Parents can obtain legal advice and assistance from family law solicitors when reaching an amicable agreement. However, this is not always possible. There may be concerns about how the other parent provides for the welfare of the children, or the emotional angst may just be too great to allow a mutual decision to be reached. Family solicitors will then apply to the court to decide these issues instead.

When it is up to the court to decide issues about the upbringing of a child, the paramount consideration for the court is the child's welfare. The law also sets out in more detail a number of factors the court must give consideration to. This list is sometimes called the welfare checklist and is set out under Section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989.

What will usually happen is that the Family Court Reporter will prepare a report – the Welfare Report – that will cover these factors. The court will interview family members, including the children, and may watch the interactions between the child and family members in a supervised environment. When the parents and other involved parties, such as family solicitors, make submissions to the court they should also make reference to the factors in the welfare checklist.

The factors set out under section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 that the court must have regard to are:

- the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned
- the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs
- the likely effect of any change in the child’s circumstances
- the child’s age, sex, background and any characteristics which the court considers relevant
- any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering
- how capable each of the parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting the child’s needs
- the range of powers available to the court under the Act in the proceedings in question

If you are trying to reach an agreement regarding the care and welfare of your children, or if you are likely to be attending court about it, you should get advice from a family solicitor. A family solicitor can help you to prepare your case as best as you can to ensure that the court makes an informed decision in the best interests of your child. A family solicitor can also represent you in court which can substantially reduce the stress involved in family court proceedings.

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