LEGAL EAGLE: ​Advice on parent gaining access to their child when it is stopped

The mother of my six-year-old daughter has recently stopped me from seeing my daughter. We separated a year ago, and the time I get to spend with my daughter has been very inconsistent over this period. Sometimes, the mother wants me to be there for our daughter and spend time with her, but other times she does not want me involved and says I am disrupting our daughter’s routine. I would like a fixed and stable arrangement in place that allows me to see my daughter on certain days during the week, but the mother is not agreeing to this.
By Andrew Freckleton
Published 12th Mar 2024, 08:00 BST
An application to the Court for a Child Arrangements Order will start the process over a parent being denied access to their child.An application to the Court for a Child Arrangements Order will start the process over a parent being denied access to their child.
An application to the Court for a Child Arrangements Order will start the process over a parent being denied access to their child.

Firstly, I am sorry to hear you are not spending consistent time with your daughter.

Under Section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989, it is presumed that the involvement of both parents in the child’s life will further the child’s welfare. Therefore, it is in your daughter’s best interests to have a relationship with you.

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A parent may stop the other from seeing their child if there are safeguarding concerns, which means the child would not be safe in a parent’s care. In such cases, it may be appropriate for a parent to only have supervised time with their child, or even indirect contact such as via letters/text updates.

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If there are no safeguarding concerns with your care of your daughter, then your daughter should be afforded the opportunity to spend time with you.

To get an arrangement in place, you can make an application to the Court for a Child Arrangements Order. This means you will be asking a Judge to make an Order which sets out who the child lives with, and who the child spends time with. Often, there will be a set schedule made in the Order of what the arrangements are to be each week. It may also give details for holidays and special occasions, such as Christmas, Easter and birthdays.

However, you must exhaust all your options before making a court application, as a Judge will almost always say that contact issues should be dealt with outside of court.

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Firstly, you can instruct us to send a contact letter on your behalf to the mother, explaining that you would like to spend consistent time with your daughter, and you would offer a proposal for what this may look like. If she engages with this, then we can negotiate with her. If she does nots, then you must attempt to engage in mediation with an external mediation provider.

If that still does not work, then your next option would be to make an application for a Child Arrangements Order.

Please contact us at Ben Hoare Bell LLP on 0191 565 3112 to discuss your issue further or email us at [email protected].