Leave to remove - not sure if/when I need to apply to court?

[ChangingWoman]

I've just been offered a great job in Europe in another part of my organisation. I informed exH by email this evening and set out an initial proposal for regular contact with DD. He has replied with some song lyrics about how it all makes him feel.

As this is neither refusing nor giving permission to remove DD, I'm not sure about next steps. The song-lyrics thing is typical and I know that I'm likely to get more of the same when I press him again. Do I need to propose mediation? Should I consult a solicitor and start preparing a court application? Luckily, the job doesn't start until 2015 so I have a year for any necessary legal action.

The background is that exH is an alcoholic who moved 90+ mins away from us, doesn't bother to turn up for the handful of hours at the weekend he is meant to see DD, and doesn't speak to DD on the phone unless she calls him (she's 4). He lives in a shared house with people he admits he doesn't want his child to be around so contact there is out of the question. At the moment, DD hasn't seen her dad for nearly a month. He also stopped paying any maintenance in September when his contract at work expired and he ended up p/t. He has made no effort to find other work or move closer to DD and his family are frustrated with him. My family are livid. There is no shared care or support of any kind.

As you were married your ex has Parental Responsibility and you need his consent or permission from the court to relocate your daughter abroad permanently. My advice would be to see a solicitor sooner rather than later because it can take 9 months to go through the courts.

In the first instance the solicitor could write formally seeking written consent and mediation as a way forward. There is now a requirement in most cases that the applicant to an action sets up a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting before a case is heard anyway.

Thanks both.

Is there a particular form for the consent of the non-resident parent (e.g. a letter explicitly stating "I consent to xxxxx" ) or would an email chain be sufficient (in which he acknowledges that we're moving overseas and agrees to a proposed international contact arrangement)?

He's very unlikely to bother writing a specific consent letter or filling in a form for me but might eventually respond to accept my email proposals if SIL and BIL talk to him. If not, it looks like time to get a solicitor.