That the Parliament recognises the ongoing work of Shared Parenting Scotland, which is a leading national charity supporting separated parents when raising children; acknowledges the development and delivery of its New Ways for Families programme, which focuses on helping parents acquire the skills of emotion management, flexible thinking and behaviour moderation in the interests of reducing conflict and making child-centred decisions; notes the contribution of its Love, Loss and Living programme, which offers further support to parents dealing with separation and the emotional impact of disrupted family life; welcomes the charity’s specific outreach to veterans and serving military personnel in recent years, including in the Central Scotland region, offering free opportunities for participation in these programmes as part of its post-service, or family, support; understands that separation, child contact, and shared parenting arrangements are often significant and recurring issues affecting people who serve or have served in the armed forces; considers that the charity’s work contributes to fulfilling Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which upholds the child’s right to maintain contact with both parents, where this is in their best interests, and commends Shared Parenting Scotland for expanding its reach to meet the complex needs of separated families, including those with military backgrounds, with programmes that prioritise children’s wellbeing and the value of cooperative parenting across households.
Supported by:
Paul Sweeney