Tory pledge on grandparents` rights

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The law would be changed to ensure that grandparents do not lose contact after a family split or bereavement, and they would be put "at the front of the queue" for custody if their grandchildren were being fostered or taken into care, shadow cabinet David Willetts told the Daily Mail.

Mr Willetts said it was a scandal that the law currently gives "little or no" recognition to the relationship grandparents have with their grandchildren and the role they often play in helping bring them up.

"Grandparents are fantastically important members of strong families and they do an increasing amount, particularly in terms of childcare," he told the paper.

"Lots of parents rely on the support they give. They also help with the family finances... and, very interestingly they are often a good source of advice for teenagers.

"But there's little or no recognition of the role of grandparents in the way the Government has constructed its family policy. A Conservative government would change that."

A family policy paper being published by the Tories within the next few months is expected to include a blueprint for boosting grandparents' rights.

Shadow ministers are also considering making it easier for them to claim childcare tax credits when they look after their grandchildren while their children are at work - something which is currently only paid for formal arrangements such as a nursery or childminder.

Mr Willetts said that the legal framework as currently set up rightly required the rights of children to come first. But he added: "We must improve the rights of grandparents to have access to children. The courts should at least have to consider whether there should be continuing legal rights to access in the event of family breakdown."

At present, only around half of councils have a policy that family members should be considered first for custody before a child is fostered or taken into care, said Mr Willetts. He insisted that grandparents should have a right to be legal guardians of the child.