PLANS to allow swifter divorces in Scotland and to give greater rights to unmarried fathers were unveiled yesterday by Cathy Jamieson, the Justice Minister.

Couples who want to divorce will be able to do so after living apart for one year instead of two under the new measures.

And where the divorce is contested, couples will have to be separated for only two years instead of five before the split can be legally recognised.

The proposed changes to family law in Scotland could also see greater legal safeguards for cohabiting couples and more rights for step-parents. Grandparents could also be given greater access rights in the event of a family break-up.

Ms Jamieson said: “I want the law to recognise that children are better protected when the adults around them have greater rights and responsibilities for them.

“There is nothing more distressing as far as children are concerned than being the pawns in a relationship that breaks down.

“Children need and deserve the love and the support of both parents in these situations irrespective of what the parents then do when they move on with their life.”

Unmarried fathers who register the birth of their child with the mother will also be given full parental rights under the proposals. At the moment, only the mother has such rights, even if the father’s name is on the child’s birth certificate.

Ms Jamieson said that 40 per cent of Scots children are born to unmarried couples and that the new proposal could help to avoid acrimonious access disputes in the event of a break-up.

The minister also said that the Executive was committed to amending domestic abuse legislation so that it covers cohabiting couples as well as those who are married.

Ms Jamieson said the Executive would also be consulting on plans to give cohabiting couples greater rights over shared goods, money and property if they split up.

She said there were around 200,000 unmarried couples living together with one or more children and that the measures reflected changes in modern lifestyles.

She said: “The status quo isn’t an option where so many children are left with families without proper legal safeguards.

“We are not proposing that cohabitation should have the equivalent legal status marriage, but our objective is to introduce legal safeguards where a relationship ends or one party dies.”

Annabel Goldie, the Tory justice spokeswoman, said it was proven that children born to married couples did better at school and were less likely to suffer from emotional problems.

She said that any new law should not undermine marriage. and added: “In particular, we must not get into a situation where our laws encourage quickie divorces that trivialise marriage and turn it into a conditional contract, terminable at short notice. The high incidence of divorce and marital breakdown in this country is profoundly damaging and exacts a heavy toll in human and financial terms.”

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