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Children Act 1989, Section 34 — Parental Contact with Children in Care

Jurisdiction: England & Wales · Citation: Children Act 1989 (c. 41), section 34 · Authoritative source: legislation.gov.uk — s.34

The statutory framework for contact with a child who is in local-authority care. Establishes a default duty on the local authority to allow reasonable contact with parents (and other connected persons), with the court empowered to impose specific contact arrangements or — in the most serious cases — authorise refusal of contact. Critically relevant in parental-alienation cases that have escalated to public-law proceedings: s.34 is the gateway through which a targeted parent maintains relational continuity with a child placed in care, and through which the alienating parent's contact can be regulated where alienation persists post-care-order.

Verbatim text (current consolidated)

34 Parental contact etc. with children in care.

(1) Where a child is in the care of a local authority, the authority shall (subject to the provisions of this section) and their duty under section 22(3)(a) or, where the local authority is in Wales, under section 78(1)(a) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 allow the child reasonable contact with—

(a) his parents;

(b) any guardian or special guardian of his;

(ba) any person who by virtue of section 4A has parental responsibility for him;

© where there was a child arrangements order in force with respect to the child immediately before the care order was made, any person named in the child arrangements order as a person with whom the child was to live; and

(d) where, immediately before the care order was made, a person had care of the child by virtue of an order made in the exercise of the High Court's inherent jurisdiction with respect to children, that person.

(2) On an application made by the authority or the child, the court may make such order as it considers appropriate with respect to the contact which is to be allowed between the child and any named person.

(3) On an application made by—

(a) any person mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1); or

(b) any person who has obtained the leave of the court to make the application,

the court may make such order as it considers appropriate with respect to the contact which is to be allowed between the child and that person.

(4) On an application made by the authority or the child, the court may make an order authorising the authority to refuse to allow contact between the child and any person who is mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1) and named in the order.

(5) When making a care order with respect to a child, or in any family proceedings in connection with a child who is in the care of a local authority, the court may make an order under this section, even though no application for such an order has been made with respect to the child, if it considers that the order should be made.

(6) An authority may refuse to allow the contact that would otherwise be required by virtue of subsection (1) or an order under this section if—

(a) they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard or promote the child's welfare; and

(b) the refusal—

(i) is decided upon as a matter of urgency; and

(ii) does not last for more than seven days.

(6A) Where (by virtue of an order under this section, or because subsection (6) applies) a local authority in England are authorised to refuse to allow contact between the child and a person mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to © of paragraph 15(1) of Schedule 2, paragraph 15(1) of that Schedule does not require the authority to endeavour to promote contact between the child and that person.

(6B) Where (by virtue of an order under this section, or because subsection (6) applies) a local authority in Wales is authorised to refuse contact between the child and a person mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to © of section 95(1) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, section 95(1) of that Act does not require the authority to promote contact between the child and that person.

(7) An order under this section may impose such conditions as the court considers appropriate.

(8) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to—

(za) what a local authority in England must have regard to in considering whether contact between a child and a person mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1) is consistent with safeguarding and promoting the child's welfare;

(a) the steps to be taken by a local authority who have exercised their powers under subsection (6);

(b) the circumstances in which, and conditions subject to which, the terms of any order under this section may be departed from by agreement between the local authority and the person in relation to whom the order is made;

© notification by a local authority of any variation or suspension of arrangements made (otherwise than under an order under this section) with a view to affording any person contact with a child to whom this section applies.

(9) The court may vary or discharge any order made under this section on the application of the authority, the child concerned or the person named in the order.

(10) An order under this section may be made either at the same time as the care order itself or later.

(11) Before making, varying or discharging an order under this section or making a care order with respect to any child the court shall—

(a) consider the arrangements which the authority have made, or propose to make, for affording any person contact with a child to whom this section applies; and

(b) invite the parties to the proceedings to comment on those arrangements.

Why this matters for PA

  • The default reasonable-contact duty (s.34(1)) protects the targeted parent post-care-order. Where alienation has driven a child into local-authority care, s.34(1)(a) creates a presumption that the targeted parent will see the child, subject only to the court's specific orders.
  • s.34(4) — court order authorising refusal of contact — is the highest threshold under English law for cutting contact. Used very rarely in PA cases; courts prefer regulated, supervised, or staggered contact under s.34(2) and (3).
  • s.34(6) emergency-refusal power — local authorities can refuse contact for up to 7 days where "necessary ... to safeguard or promote the child's welfare." In severe alienation cases, this is the rapid-intervention tool when one parent is sabotaging another's contact during a care episode.
  • s.34(11) — pre-order consultation duty — the court MUST consider the local authority's contact arrangements and invite parties' comments before making any contact order. This procedural protection prevents rubber-stamping of alienating arrangements.
  • Re B (Minors) (Care: Contact: Local Authority's Plans) [1993] Fam 301 (CA, per Butler-Sloss LJ): courts must hold the local authority to account on contact even after a care order is made; s.34 is the supervisory mechanism.
  • Re S (A Child) (Family Division: Without Notice Orders) [2001] 1 FLR 308: s.34(6) emergency power must not be used to outflank the s.34 order regime; abuses justify judicial review.

Sources & authoritative references

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