Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many residence orders were given by the family courts to fathers in 2017, and how many to mothers.

A child arrangements order provides for a child to live with and spend time with a person or persons named in the order and replaced separate contact and residence orders in 2014. Such orders may address various arrangements for a child’s upbringing involving more than one person.

The welfare of the child is the court’s paramount concern when making any decision about a child’s upbringing, including with whom the child is to live or spend time with.

The Ministry of justice publishes data on the number of child arrangements orders made in respect of contact and residence. Statistics can be obtained at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly in Table 4. However, the Department does not collate figures centrally on the applicant’s connection to the child. This information could only be obtained by checking each case file at disproportionate cost.