The UK Government is considering proposals under which parents would be handed a leaflet at the birth of their child spelling out their responsibilities, in case they later get divorced.

The proposal, announced yesterday, is that the pamphlet would be given when parents register a new birth so they consider “seriously from the start” what is best for their child if they split up.

It is one of a series of recommendations in a major review of the family justice system published by David Norgrove, a former civil servant.

The aim of the review is to put the needs of children and their wishes at its heart.

Other measures include granting grandparents some legal powers for the first time to ensure they have access to their grandchildren.

Warring parents will be made to undergo mediation before being allowed to go to court and a priority that a child should have a “meaningful” relationship with both parents should be enshrined in law.

The review also proposes significant changes in the public law system which deals with children who are taken in to care, after it emerged youngsters can be held in limbo for more than a year before learning what their fate is.

Under the proposals, courts could decide whether a child should remain with parents, go to relatives or go in to care with less information than they require now from local authorities.

The plans also recommend that there should be a time limit on cases being concluded within six months.

The review found the number of children involved in family justice, including divorce and care proceedings, has increased by 25 per cent in three years to 163,000.

Parents, especially those going through divorce, should think more about what is best for their children rather than which one of them can “win”, Mr Norgrove believes.

In one recommendation, the report said: “From the outset of parenting, there needs to be a greater focus on, and awareness of, the importance of raising a child in a co-operative manner.

“We see the value in parents being given a short leaflet when they register the birth of their child, providing an introduction to the meaning of PR (parental responsibility) and what this means in practice.”

Parental Responsibility is a term under the Children’s Act 1989 that spells out the duties of parenting such as providing a home, giving them a name, protecting and maintaining them and arranging an education.

Mr Norgrove said: “One idea would be that parents, when they register the birth, are given a short leaflet which explains the nature of parental responsibility – which is a legal term – and then what that means for them, and if they were eventually to separate, how that would work and what they would need to think about, so that they take it seriously from the start.”

A Government spokesman said: “The panel’s interim findings provide a valuable initial assessment of the challenges which the family justice system faces and makes recommendations including ensuring that the interests of children remain paramount, better services for families who are separating, and recognition for the important role grandparents can play in supporting children.”