Following the imposition of local protection levels across Scotland, the Lord President, Scotland’s most senior judge, has issued further guidance regarding shared parenting and compliance with court orders for contact.

The guidance makes the general position clear: in all levels, there is an exemption to any travel restrictions which are in place, where the travel is for the purposes of shared parenting.

This means that, where parents do not live in the same household, children can move between their parents’ home. This is allowed no matter what local protection area you live in.

If the court has made orders in relation to arrangements for contact, the court orders should be adhered to, unless the parents have agreed alternative arrangements. If such alternative arrangements are agreed, parents should keep a record of the agreement.

Of course, parents may still have concerns about their own health, the health of their children, and their extended family. Children may be living in or travelling to households where there are persons self-isolating, or in the shielding category.

Parents may also be worried about travel over a long distance in compliance with contact orders. Communication, it is said, is the key to managing the situation, and agreeing a sensible, practical solution.

Unfortunately, many separated parents are unable to engage in such communication. In the event that the parents are disagreed as to how contact should operate, in accordance with the court order, their dispute may be brought to the attention of the court.

The courts will consider whether each parent has acted reasonably and sensibly, in all of the circumstances, and a parent who seeks to take advantage, unfairly, of the current circumstances, may expect to be held to account and may be found in contempt of court.

The Lord President is also clear that, in the event that it is agreed that direct contact does not operate, alternative arrangements for contact by Facetime, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom or other video conferencing, should be facilitated.

The courts are, once again, dealing with urgent and non-urgent business. If you are a parent who has been denied contact, whether or not an order of court is presently in place, an application to court can be made, in order that the situation can be regulated.