Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the advice is for parents who are co-parenting and live in different localities, requiring substantial travel, during the covid-19 lockdown.

The Government understands the practical challenges faced by separated parents during the current pandemic. The Government’s general guidance is that only essential travel should be undertaken.

Where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes to continue existing arrangements for contact, including contact specified in a Child Arrangements Order. Whether a child should move between parental homes is for the child’s parents to decide after a sensible assessment of the circumstances. This includes the child’s present health, the risk of infection and the presence of any individuals in either household who are defined as medically vulnerable.

Where distance or other considerations make face to face contact difficult, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has published helpful advice on effective co-parenting which is available at https://portal.cafcass.clickrelationships.org/home/all-issues/