The repeal of Section 41 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and related reforms: is the state turning a blind eye to the needs of children in divorce proceedings?

Section S.18 of the Children and Families Act 2014 repealed s41 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Generally known as the welfare check in undefended divorce cases where there were no accompanying applications for child-related orders, these provisions required a district judge to scrutinise a Statement of Arrangements for all the dependent children of the family in order to determine whether the court should exercise any of its powers under the Children Act 1989. The repeal of s41 raised the question of whether the state should attempt to safeguard these children's welfare in some other more effective way. This chapter examines the matter from the perspective of a socio-legal researcher who over the years has studied the operation of the welfare check in its various guises, and who has conducted several other child-related divorce studies, including some high-conflict cases where the children were separately represented.