Claire Devine expands on why s 91(14) orders should be issued sparingly
In the Court of Appeal case of Re A (Contact: Section 91(14)) [2010] 2 FLR 151, the child in question was aged four years and seven months. The child’s parents were never married but the father had parental responsibility by virtue of his name being entered on the birth certificate. The child lived with his mother but had substantial contact with the father. There were difficulties with the contact arrangements and proceedings were issued. The application to the Court of Appeal resulted from an order made in the Nottingham County Court on 28 September 2009 in which an order was made, inter alia, under the Children Act 1989, s 91(14) providing that no further applications could be made without leave in respect of the child for 18 months.
Case history
The father and the mother separated in May 2007. Initially, contact was dealt with by consent. Proceedings were, however, commenced on the father’s application in March 2008 following difficulties as to the contact arrangements. The father felt that the mother had been obstructive
