In my blog of 16th April I reported on the statistics
issued that day by Shared Parenting Scotland which showed that 61%
of separated parents had experienced reduced time or no contact at
all with their children since the start of lockdown. At that
date the extent to which new actions sent to the court seeking
contact with a child where contact was being refused would be
treated within the remit of "urgent and necessary" civil
business still wasn't clear.
I am pleased to report that shortly following writing that blog
we were able to successfully have a Writ for contact warranted by
the court and a Child Welfare Hearing took place in that case this
morning remotely, by telephone conference call. In that case,
involving an 18 month old child, the parents had separated right at
the start of lockdown. The mother had put forward COVID-19
reasons for denying the father any direct contact whatsoever with
his daughter. She had a vulnerable relative living in the
same
