National Lockdown – How the new government guidelines affect parents with shared custody of their children

 

Can I still see my child in national lockdown?

The Prime Minister has advised that people follow the stay-at-home guidance immediately. This means households cannot mix anymore, with homes only being allowed to create a childcare bubble or one support bubble if they meet the eligible criteria.

Every family will be facing big challenges right now, as restrictions on what we can and cannot do continue to change. If you are separated or divorced from your child’s other parent, these challenges may feel even bigger.

The good news is that you can continue existing arrangements for contact between parents and children where they live apart.

Government guidelines state:

“You can mix indoors where necessary with the other parent to allow your child to move between homes.

A child moving between 2 parents who live separately is not counted as a childcare bubble. This means both you and the other parent can also form a childcare bubble with one other household.”

In addition to this, parents are also able to form a childcare bubble or continue contact with their existing childcare bubble.

The purpose of childcare bubbles is to help provide support for households with a child under the age of 14 with informal childcare needs. More information on support bubbles can be found on the government website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-childcare-bubble-with-another-household

 

Can grandparents still see their grandchildren?

The government guidance states that, where the child is under 14 years old, parents are able to form a ‘childcare bubble’ with one other household for the purposes of informal childcare. Therefore, grandparents are able to see their grandchildren if they are providing childcare and the same grandparents care for the same grandchildren every time. However, government guidance states that you are not allowed to swap households in your childcare bubble, so grandparents who have more than one set of grandchildren, living in more than one other household, are only allowed to provide childcare for one set of their grandchildren.

 

What to do if you share custody of your child and someone in either household develops coronavirus symptoms or tests positive?

Government guidelines state that If anyone in your childcare bubble develops symptoms or tests positive for coronavirus, then they must follow the stay at home guidance.

Where custody of your child is shared, and you and your child’s other parent are in separate childcare bubbles, members of both bubbles should stay at home if someone in either household develops symptoms or tests positive for coronavirus.

This is critical to controlling the virus, as it will help to stop it spreading across multiple households.

 

The other parent now won’t return the child to me. What can I do?

If there are no medical issues within either household and neither household is self-isolating, children should maintain their usual routine of spending time with each of their parents and Child Arrangement Orders should be followed as closely as possible.

If you have an informal arrangement and the other parent is refusing contact, then you can make an application to the Court for a Child Arrangement Order. For further information on how to apply for a Child Arrangement Order, or for more guidance on child arrangements please contact our team to arrange a 30 minute free consultation.