Grandparents contact during care order

[RobB]

Hi, we are applying for joint care and residence with our daughter for her 3 children. She will initially live with us but then move into an annex we already have planning permission to build onto our house. We do not yet have the final recommendations from the guardian or LA but suspect going by their previous recommendations they will recommend the court to grant the children's residence to their father which we obviously disagree strongly with. We have been trying to maintain contact with the children and think this is particularly important since there is a reasonable chance the court will grant us residence with their mother.
The children's social worker will not allow us saying that one of the children says he does not want to see their grandad. Additionally he is becoming very distressed. I suggested to her that that is because he is now getting long periods of unsupervised contact with his dad and has been told he will be going to live with him 200 miles away. He dad was responsible for domestic abuse which is why the children came to the attention of child protection in the first place. Later child protection became more concerned about substance abuse and mental health problems of their mum which is why they have recommended the children live with dad. She says he (the child) has not been told he may be going to live with his dad. I cannot see how she can know that being that there is no supervision between dad and children and he now has them for days at a time against mum's wishes.
The social worker said she did not know why the child had become distressed but suggested that it was because mum was now seeing the children in a different venue which I think is a highly unlikely reason as she is supervised and only sees them for 2 hours a week. The only real change in circumstances I am aware of over the last few months is that Dad's contact went from 2 hours a week supervised to much more unsupervised including overnight stays.
Do we have any right to see the children as we are party to the proceedings, their mother believes the children would like to see us despite what the eldest supposedly says and we have hope that the children will come to live with us in a months time. We do not believe he would not enjoy his contact with us but feel the social worker is deliberately trying to exclude us. We have always had a very good relations with the children in the past and they seemed very pleased to see us when we have had contact before, the last time being 2 months ago now.
Is there any point in ourselves or the children's mother getting some kind of court order to prevent the unsupervised contact with dad bearing in mind the final hearing is only 1 month away, we do not have access to facts and the damage, if it is damage by dad, has already been done. I do feel angry and frustrated at the refusal to accept dad may be to blame ( and by inference the LA itself) by the children's social worker.

[David Roth]

RobB, you have raised concerns about two contact issues affecting your grandchildren: the lack of contact they are having with you, and the unsupervised contact they have with their father. The final hearing of their care proceedings is due to take place in a month.

It is not going to be possible to change these arrangements before the final hearing takes place. However, one option that may be open to you would be to request an adjournment of the final hearing, on the grounds that the local authority has not adequately explored the option of the children being raised by their mother with your support, evidenced by the fact that you have been denied contact with the children for 2 months, and that it is necessary to examine this option in 'order to resolve the proceedings justly' (this is an important phrase). However, be warned that courts are now very keen to resolve care cases within the six month time limit the government has set, and you would have to present a very strong case for them to agree any adjournment.