Divorced fathers might not get equal time with their children after a divorce, Ken Clarke says A ministerial group, comprising junior education ministers Tim Loughton and Sarah Teather, and junior justice minister Jonathan Djanogly is now working on the plans. The decision contradicts one of the main findings of the family justice review by former Whitehall mandarin and City businessman David Norgrove. Mr Norgrove had originally proposed a right to equal access in law for both parents last March and then dropped it from his final 220-page report in November. Last week he criticised the plans, insisting that his review had "concluded that the law should not be changed." Mr Clarke said he recognised "the undoubted dangers in Australia which caused David Norgrove and his colleagues to be hesitant." But he said: "We are stating what I think is the view of most people which is that both parents have responsibilities and rights towards their children and the children are entitled to try and maintain contact with both parents if it's at all possible. What we are doing is going to state that principle in the law, because there are far too many people who think it's not being applied - although I do think the courts do apply it and try to apply it in most cases. Ministers are particularly concerned about boys growing up without a strong male influence. Mr Clarke added that parents who were getting a divorce would have to go to mediation proceedings to cut down on costly court cases. He told MPs: "We are determined to provide a procedural framework that will support separating couples to resolve their disputes more reasonably and more quickly, without the need to resort to litigation in court, where it is possible to do so. To do this we will legislate to make attendance at a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting compulsory for a person wishing to make an application to court in certain private law family proceedings. Mr Clarke added that grandparents would be allowed to have their rights recognised in non-legally binding parenting agreements, which would set out how a child would be cared for after a divorce. He said that ministers "will consider how parenting agreements could be used to emphasise the need for parents to consider how the child can maintain a relationship with other close family members including grandparents." Last night campaigners for both fathers and for single parents criticised Mr Clarke's proposals. Nadine O'Connor, Fathers 4 Justice Campaign's director, said the proposals were a "nightmare for children with separating parents." She said the Government's to the Norgrove report was a "charter for conflict and fatherlessness." She said: "Without a legal presumption to shared parenting to ensure both parents are treated equally in law, these proposals will fail. The conflict in the family courts will only continue to escalate. The Government's response demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the issues and will condemn tens of thousands of children to lose their fathers. Gingerbread and the Family and Parenting Institute added that it was "deeply troubling" that about the plans to legalise equal access. A spokesman said: "This will fundamentally compromise the ability of the family courts to focus on the breadth of issues that contribute to a child's ongoing welfare after family separation."