Contact

[spyro75]

My husband and I were meant to have contact with both children Saturday the youngest ones carer cancelled day before. Even though they knew at the start of march as they were sent contact dates. The excuse was they could not get him there. Can they actually cancel contact.

[Winter25]

Hi spyro75,

Yes, contact can sometimes be cancelled, but not just casually because it is inconvenient.

If your children are in care, the local authority has a duty to allow reasonable contact with parents, and where there is a court order about contact they cannot simply depart from it whenever they like. The Children Act guidance says there are specific rules around refusal of contact and departure from section 34 arrangements.

So the real question is not “can they ever cancel?” but:

1 why was it cancelled,

2 who made that decision,

3 was it a one-off transport problem or a wider pattern, and what arrangements are being made to put it right.

If the reason genuinely was that the carer could not get your youngest there, that may explain one missed session, but it still should not just be left there. They should be reorganising transport, rearranging contact quickly, and keeping you properly informed. Foster carers and the local authority are expected to support contact arrangements, not let them fall apart through poor planning.

If there is a court order for contact, or a written care plan/contact agreement, I would be asking for the cancellation decision and the replacement contact in writing.

A message would be:

“Please confirm in writing why contact for [child’s name] was cancelled, who made that decision, whether this was discussed with the social worker, and when replacement contact will take place. We would also like confirmation of the transport arrangements going forward so this does not happen again.”

If this is happening more than once, or they do not rearrange it promptly, I would push it higher:
social worker,
team manager,
and if the child is looked after, the IRO.

If there is a solicitor involved, tell them too.

===
For transparency, I am not an official adviser. I am a parent with lived experience of the system, offering support and strategic guidance. Always consult with your solicitor regarding any breaches of contact orders.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

My husband and I were meant to have contact with both children Saturday the youngest ones carer cancelled day before. Even though they knew at the start of march as they were sent contact dates. The excuse was they could not get him there. Can they actually cancel contact.

Dear spyro75,

Welcome to the parents’ forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am the online adviser at Family Rights Group. I hope that the following advice and information is helpful to you. You can click on the hyperlinks in my post to take you to more information on our website.

I am sorry to hear that contact with your youngest child was cancelled at such short notice. This must have been very disappointing for you. From the information you have given I am assuming that your children are living with foster carers under a care order.

When children are living with foster carers children’s services have a duty to organise contact between children and their parents. This is because statutory guidance says that contact with their parents is very important for children: “Contact can be very important in helping children and young people develop their sense of identity and understand their lives and their sense of self”. You can see HERE for more information about this.

This means that contact should be prioritised and should only be cancelled for a good reason. For example if your son was unwell or if there was an unexpected emergency. You were told that the carer was unable to get your son to the contact session, despite having the dates well in advance. It is not clear if this is because something unexpected happened which meant they could no longer take him to his contact session, or whether it was because the contact arrangements were not organised properly with the carers.

Regardless, I would suggest that you ask the social worker to let you know when contact will next be happening – they should rearrange the cancelled session as soon as is possible. You should also ask them to speak with the foster carers to make sure that they are able to get your son to the contact location, or organise any transport that is needed if the carers are unable to take him there themselves.

I would also suggest that you speak with your son’s independent reviewing officer (IRO) to make sure that they are aware that your son’s contact was cancelled at such late notice. You can contact the IRO directly and ask to speak with them on the phone or in person if you wish to.

Finally, if you remain unhappy or feel that this has not been properly addressed by the social worker or the IRO, you could consider making a formal complaint. You can see more information HERE about doing so.

I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons.

Best wishes,
Suzie