AN OVERHAUL of the law governing parental access to children is long overdue.

Existing procedures are blatantly biased against fathers, who lose four out of every five custody disputes which go before the courts.

Essentially, fathers have no rights to see their children, only a right to apply to a court for permission to see them.

It is to be hoped that proposed reforms, due to be published next month, will redress the balance.

The balance does not entail an assumption that separated parents will be given automatic 50-50 contact. But it does entail that each case will be considered on its individual merits.

The Government is right to make every effort to ensure such matters are resolved before they end up in the courts.

It is sensible to expand and improve mediation services, to reach amicable settlements between estranged mothers and fathers at an early stage in their separation.

When disputes have to reach court they are often bitter and acrimonious. The power and authority vested in the courts are often unable to impose binding agreements on access.

It is when judgements are deliberately flouted and parents are denied access that problems are exacerbated.

Because of the strained nature of such relationships, giving the courts extra powers of punishment to enforce judgements may serve little purpose.

It is surely better to beef up the mediation process, rather than the judicial process.

At all times the interests and the welfare of children must be paramount. And it is surely in children's interests that the involvement of the courts is a last resort.