Parents who split up would not be guaranteed equal access to their children under plans unveiled by the Government yesterday.

Ministers want to ensure children see both their parents after a separation.

But they said children must not be treated "like a CD collection" with an automatic presumption of a 50/50 split between both parents.

The Government is proposing a shake-up of the law, saying it is not working at the moment.

It wants more help for parents to reach a settlement without recourse to the courts. It also wants cases that do reach the courts to be dealt with more quickly and effectively.

And ministers want better enforcement of punishments for parents who breach court orders.

The plans were set out in a Green Paper on parental separation published by the Government.

Ministers say the starting point must be the interests of the children, rather than the rights of the parents - and children are best served by maintaining contact with both parents.

But they have resisted Tory demands to ensure fathers have equal access.

Proposals to help parents resolve access without going to court include helplines and legal aid targeted on resolution rather than litigation.

To improve the court system ministers want to encourage conciliation and speed up first court appointments. They also want the same judge to see through cases to the end to ensure continuity.

They want to give courts a greater range of powers to ensure their orders are observed.

Currently the only options are prison or fines.

Ministers want parents who flout court orders to be given community-based orders, such as voluntary work. They are also proposing awarding financial compensation from one parent to the other, for example where the cost of a holiday has been lost.