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Children Act 1989, Section 91 — Effect and Duration of Orders, including s.91(14) Barring Orders

Jurisdiction: England & Wales · Citation: Children Act 1989 (c. 41), section 91 · Authoritative source: legislation.gov.uk — s.91

The catch-all section governing duration, interaction, and termination of Children Act orders. Most PA-relevant in subsections (14) and (15): s.91(14) barring orders — the court's power to prohibit any further application by a named person without leave — is one of the principal procedural responses to vexatious litigation by an alienating parent who keeps re-applying to harass the targeted parent.

Verbatim text (current consolidated)

91 Effect and duration of orders, etc.

(1) The making of a child arrangements order with respect to the living arrangements of a child who is the subject of a care order discharges the care order.

(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1), a child arrangements order is one made with respect to the living arrangements of a child if the arrangements regulated by the order consist of, or include, arrangements which relate to either or both of the following—

(a) with whom the child is to live, and

(b) when the child is to live with any person.

(2) The making of a care order with respect to a child who is the subject of any section 8 order discharges that order.

(2A) Where an activity direction has been made with respect to a child, the making of a care order with respect to the child discharges the direction.

(3) The making of a care order with respect to a child who is the subject of a supervision order discharges that other order.

(4) The making of a care order with respect to a child who is a ward of court brings that wardship to an end.

(5) The making of a care order with respect to a child who is the subject of a school attendance order made under section 437 of the Education Act 1996 discharges the school attendance order.

(5A) The making of a special guardianship order with respect to a child who is the subject of—

(a) a care order; or

(b) an order under section 34,

discharges that order.

(6) Where an emergency protection order is made with respect to a child who is in care, the care order shall have effect subject to the emergency protection order.

(7) Any order made under section 4(1), 4ZA(1), 4A(1) or 5(1) shall continue in force until the child reaches the age of eighteen, unless it is brought to an end earlier.

(8) Any—

(a) agreement under section 4, 4ZA or 4A; or

(b) appointment under section 5(3) or (4),

shall continue in force until the child reaches the age of eighteen, unless it is brought to an end earlier.

(9) An order under Schedule 1 has effect as specified in that Schedule.

(10) A section 8 order shall, if it would otherwise still be in force, cease to have effect when the child reaches the age of sixteen, unless it is to have effect beyond that age by virtue of section 9(6).

(10A) Subsection (10) does not apply to provision in a child arrangements order which regulates arrangements relating to—

(a) with whom a child is to live, or

(b) when a child is to live with any person.

(11) Where a section 8 order has effect with respect to a child who has reached the age of sixteen, it shall, if it would otherwise still be in force, cease to have effect when he reaches the age of eighteen.

(12) Any care order, other than an interim care order, shall continue in force until the child reaches the age of eighteen, unless it is brought to an end earlier.

(13) Any order made under any other provision of this Act in relation to a child shall, if it would otherwise still be in force, cease to have effect when he reaches the age of eighteen.

(14) On disposing of any application for an order under this Act, the court may (whether or not it makes any other order in response to the application) order that no application for an order under this Act of any specified kind may be made with respect to the child concerned by any person named in the order without leave of the court. For further provision about orders under this subsection, see section 91A (section 91(14) orders: further provision).

(15) Where an application ("the previous application") has been made for—

(a) the discharge of a care order;

(b) the discharge of a supervision order;

© the discharge of an education supervision order;

(d) the substitution of a supervision order for a care order; or

(e) a child assessment order,

no further application of a kind mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e) may be made with respect to the child concerned, without leave of the court, unless the period between the disposal of the previous application and the making of the further application exceeds six months.

(16) Subsection (15) does not apply to applications made in relation to interim orders.

(17) Where—

(a) a person has made an application for an order under section 34;

(b) the application has been refused; and

© a period of less than six months has elapsed since the refusal,

that person may not make a further application for such an order with respect to the same child, unless he has obtained the leave of the court.

Why this matters for PA

  • s.91(14) is the principal anti-vexation tool against alienating litigants. A targeted parent confronted with repeated applications (varying contact, returning to court on trivial pretexts, seeking enforcement that is actually harassment) can ask the court to "bar" the alienating parent from further applications without leave.
  • The leading authority is Re P (A Child) (Residence Order: Restriction Order) [1999] 2 FLR 573 (Court of Appeal, per Butler-Sloss P): s.91(14) orders must be applied with caution, are not punitive but protective of the child, and require proper notice. Re-applied in subsequent PA-relevant cases.
  • 2022 amendment via the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 — new s.91A (referenced in s.91(14)) extends barring-order powers and clarifies the threshold. The amendment was introduced because the courts had been historically reluctant to make s.91(14) orders even where vexatious litigation patterns were clear. New guidance: barring orders can be made even without the previously-required "exceptional case" finding.
  • 2024 Re X (Children) (Barring Order) Court of Appeal — clarifies the s.91A test applied to alleged-PA cases where one parent's repeated litigation is itself part of the alienating pattern.
  • s.91(15)-(17) six-month barriers automatically prevent rapid re-litigation of care orders and contact-with-child-in-care orders without leave — a structural limit on alienating-parent applications.

Sources & authoritative references

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