Family lawyer calls for clarity on "unclear" support bubble guidance
11 June 2020, 15:28
Family lawyer calls for clarity on "unclear" support bubble guidance
This family lawyer told LBC that the support guidance is unclear and calls for greater clarity from the Prime Minister.
Single-adult households, including single parents children, will be able to stay at one other household from 13 June as part of the Government's new "support bubble" plan for England.
The Prime Minister emphasised that each household can only choose one other household to "bubble" with and this cannot be changed.
The policy was unveiled to alleviate loneliness - however those who are clinically vulnerable are still being asked to shield.
Venerated family lawyer Katie Welton-Dillon told LBC this will be a welcome change for parents in separate households - although the legislation has not been written so remains slightly unclear.
Ms Welton-Dillon observed, "This is mainly for single parents and it's single parents in every sense of the word where there is only one parent involved in the child's life and they can have a bubble with another household.
"The difficulty we're finding is that people who are separated do often view themselves as single parents and they understandably believe that this applies to them and this is where we need some clarification.
"Arguably when a child is already moving between two parents' home, that's already a bubble of two households, which is what we were told last night there could only be. Boris Johnson was clear that that can't be extended past two households together. If separated parents are also allowed to have their own bubbles, then there's multiple households being connected by virtue of the child moving between them."
The lawyer branded the guidance unclear although legislation is expected to be published at 4pm.
"People need that certainty and they're looking to the government and then to us for advice and it's very difficult when there isn't that information clearly available to all," she said.
