Contact Terminated Prematurely

H (Children) (CA CLW 23 February)

A father, who had enjoyed frequent contact with his children, suffered from a progressive degenerative disease and had threatened suicide in circumstances, which also endangered the children. The judge had erred in dismissing the father’s application for contact, because he had failed to identify what harm the children could come to at supervised meetings at a family centre and had not taken into account the interests of the children in maintaining a relationship with their father. Although the safety of the children was the foremost consideration, the absolute elimination of risk was not necessarily the minimum requirement. The judge’s decision effectively ignored the possibility of a review at a later stage. The summary dismissal of the father’s application was set aside and the matter transferred to the Family Division for further determination.