Under proposals outlined in a green paper on family separation, parents who deliberately defy contact orders could be sentenced to community service and made to pay compensation.
Constitutional affairs secretary Lord Falconer said it was vital to offer greater flexibility to judges who were understandably reluctant to jail parents, most often mothers.
The paper promised legislation "at the earliest possible opportunity", but he would not say whether this would be included in the next Queen's speech.
The Solicitors Family Law Association said the proposed reforms of family justice, which include a greater emphasis on conciliation and mediation and a pledge to speed up the court process, had to be urgently accompanied by beefed up enforcement.
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