The government’s guidance on the new emergency measures has been published and can be accessed HERE.

Permitted reasons to leave the house are: shopping for necessities, one form of exercise per day alone or with a household member, to provide care, or for essential work.

The guidance expressly states that “Where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes.”

If you have a court order for shared residence, you should keep to the order.

If you feel the other parent is taking unnecessary risks and that it would be dangerous for the child to go there, you can apply to the court vary the order.

If you feel it is an emergency then you could keep the child with you and allow the other parent to apply to enforce it - but do be aware that you risk serious consequences such as community service or having to pay compensation if you do this and it isn’t an emergency.

If the other parent is not abiding by the order and you want them to, you can apply to enforce the order.

Advice on enforcing or varying a court order can be found here. FiLiA does not provide legal advice and if you are in this position, speak to a lawyer. Law firms and the courts are still operating remotely.

If you do not have a court order for shared residence, you should keep to the structure you usually have. If one parent withdraws contact then the other may apply for a court order.

Advice on applying for a court order can be found here. FiLiA does not provide legal advice and if you are in this position, speak to a lawyer. Law firms and the courts are still operating remotely.

Whether or not you have a court order, if a child is with one parent and someone in either household has to self-isolate then the child should not travel, and you should follow the government’s guidance on self-isolating which is here.

And of course, if the parents come to an agreement between themselves, then that continues to be perfectly reasonable. If for example parents live a long way from one another, or if one parent is in a particularly high risk category, then it might be sensible to come to such an agreement. Nothing prevents parents from making arrangements between themselves as they see fit.

At FiLiA we understand that women may be at risk of domestic abuse, including the use of contact with children as a weapon, during this period. If you are in this position then do have a look at our blog on safety and self-isolation. We are putting out a call for firms who can help remotely and will update this page with details.