So unbelievably worried, child arrangement court order enforcement action.

[Terrified1202]

I will also post this in legal, but wanted to obtain experience from other posters on enforcement action of a child arrangement order.
I have NC for this, but you will recognise which poster I am, I just didn't want this linked back to my other threads about my violent ex that I have posted about on numerous occasions.
Fled horrific domestic violence last year, DD and I were removed by the authorities and child protection and relocated to a protected address, we live in hiding from her father. He is unbeknown to any details regarding our lives now, where I work, where DD goes to Nursery, anything - it is all a secret, one I have managed to maintain for a year.
We have a current interim child arrangement order for interim supervised contact since the start of the year, this was made much by the disapproval of CAFCASS who repeated several times during our hearing that interim contact was significantly dangerous to DD and I, against my better judgement I threw my ex a life line and was advised to suggest supervised in a centre.
We have had multiple issues with the former contact centre, this then led to disbandment of facilitation of them. We were due to start in a new contact centre, but in the interim period my ex made a threat to kill (I can't explain how that was made as it's quite outing) however I reported it to the Police and it is currently being dealt with. As a result of that the Police immediately referred me onto MARAC and I have received a MARAC support letter from the police advising me not to take DD to contact as basically my life is threatened because he is so deranged.
This letter was forwarded onto the Court, Cafcass, Solicitors and the contact centre. As a result of this, my actual words to the new centre were "I have been advised not to take DD to contact"
Several authorities have recommended that I don't take DD to contact because it is also significantly affecting her, in that she has stated on many occasions to her peers and staff at nursery that she is scared of her father and doesn't wish to see him. The Health Visitor also did an emergency home visit and witnessed DD extremely terrified at the mention of her father.
To note, I have made DD available for every single session to date, for the exception of some occasions where she or I were unwell, there was also an occasion where I had to self-isolate. During which, all of these occasions I offered alternatives, and have documentary evidence in the form of emails and texts to support.
Today, I received a call from my DD's HV to say another MARAC referral in the area I reside had been done as they truly believe I am at risk of harm, this resulted in a call from Children's Services, I mentioned the letter from last MARAC and they are now in receipt of a copy and have also advised that I do not take DD to contact and exercise judgement and safeguard.
I have now received an application for enforcement of the court order by my ex with all of the listed missed dated for contact (4 in total) and he is stating that I use DD as a means to control him.
I am really worried and don't know what to do, I am legally aided and my Solicitor is so unbelievably awful - she is a scaremonger and has advised me that he can switch his application to a transfer of residence if he sees fit, however he would need to prove he is safe, which of course he is not.
Significant child abuse was recorded via the former local authority last year, as a result of the last significant assault on me, this prompted child protection to become engaged and remove us out of the local authority and relocate us. I spent several weeks in a refuge before staying on a friends sofa before we were able to relocate to our protected address.
I'm worried that he can apply for a transfer of residence and the Judge will believe him.
What should I be doing now? my Solicitor is now on A/L but has asked me to document everything and write a statement.

I'm afraid I have no experience in this area but didn't want to leave a run. People with experience will be along soon I'm sure.

But in the meantime, having read your op, I can't believe for a moment that any judge would decide he is a better parent than you. He is likely using this as another way of scaring you. He can no longer get to your physically so is using the only way he can to frighten you.

Every authority, and your child, have a view which is that he isn't safe to be around.

In the meantime, can you get a better solicitor? Or if they are on A/L do they have a colleague who can advise in their absence? (You might even end up with better representation as a result).

Thank you. I did think about getting a new solicitor but it's difficult with legal aid to change solicitors.

Echoing the advice to change solicitor. Often children's services can recommend local solicitors. Call a few, explain the situation with ex and current sol and they can do the transfer work. It's not as tricky as you think and it's so important you have confidence in your legal advice.

Can you pay to have a direct access barrister on the day?

No I can't, I'm full time working single parent with a minimal contribution from cms from him, absolutely minimum.. No savings or family help.

Firstly OP sack your solicitor and instruct a new one immediately. Court hearings are still mainly remote now and this means you can find a decent family law solicitor further afield if need be- remember they can instruct a barrister for you anyway to deal with the hearing on the day.
Secondly, change of residence to a dv perpetrator like your DC father based on an enforcement order application is highly unlikely given the information your offered. It years of litigation and serious expert assessments from cafcass and a child psychologist to persuade the court it was in her overall interests to leave your care - it is very unlikely this will ever happen given the concerns about your ex and reasons for missed contact sessions. Don’t worry it’s a control tactic and commonly seen in family law proceedings. You are in a strong position being able to get legal rep so use it to your full advantage 💐

I'm worried to be honest, I don't feel she's acting in my best interests and she's interested in scaremongering me. Im writing her a letter detailing all of the supposed breaches and supplementary.. This should hopefully make my ex look like a total prick.

Yes it doesn’t sound like helpful advice your getting . Something to consider is asking for a different solicitor from her firm to take over your case or alternately saying to your solicitor that you want her to instruct a barrister to deal with all the hearings - you will get a “conference” with them and possibly a better experience at no cost to you.
Getting really good legal representation is so important in family proceedings given what’s at stake x

You need to tell your solicitor what you’re saying here. She sounds extremely unsupportive.

I've sent her a very formal 14 page letter.. How do you change solicitor when you're legally aided, do you not need the courts permission?

@Harriethoyle Children's services absolutely cannot recommend a solicitor, they're expressly forbidden from doing so. Children's services will usually have a list of solicitors that work in the area of family law that are in the locality, and will provide this list on request - they cannot and should not give any view on it, to do so is considered prejudicial to legal process.

@Terrified1202 I'd recommend speaking to your solicitor about the implications of changing before making that decision. The way that legal aid works, you usually get a set number of hours of a solicitors time, some of which is taken up by them familiarising themselves with the case. You would need to balance any benefit you'd get from changing, with the potential risk of someone coming in at a late stage and not having a reasonable number of hours allocated to do the job.

With respect, are you sure your solicitor is giving you bad advice or could it be your (justifiable) anxiety getting in the way? The only thing you've mentioned that your solicitor has done 'wrong' is scaring you by telling you that your ex could easily change the application to a transfer of residence but that he'd need to prove he's safe. That doesn't sound like scaremongering - that sounds like a solicitor telling you what actions your ex might take and that it's a straightforward process so he may do it. That is exactly what your solicitor is meant to do, along with advising you about the likelihood of success for your and his options. It's not clear whether the next part of your sentence (that he's obviously not safe for transfer of residence) is your view or your solicitors is both. If your solicitor hasn't made it clear to you then ask them direct whether such an application is something for you to be concerned about. Aside from the stress it causes from the power play, there's nothing that you've posted that would suggest a court would give it time of day.

@Nachostress Children's Services in my local authority have actually advised that I should exercise my judgement in order to safeguard both myself and DD. I've always had a decent relationship with my solicitor so insofar as changing solicitors, it's not an option for me at present. I was very honest in a respectful way to her..
I understand she has to advise on the potential implications which include a prospective application to change residence, however this is a seriously dangerous individual who all of the involved authorities understand to be extremely volatile. Facts have been found to prove he was physically and emotionally abusive to our daughter and in the judges written judgement it expressly states that unsupervised contact is wholly inappropriate.
How does an enforcement hearing work, all my ex has submitted is a 2 paragraph statement with a list of dates for supposed breaches... 3 of those dates are completely made up dates.
I've supplied my solicitor with a 13 page document detailing all of the alleged breaches and my written communication with the contact centre.
How will the proceed with the enforcement application if he's provided no evidence whatsoever of the dates I've purported to breach?

Also to those people saying the solicitor should instruct a barrister - please think about whether you actually know about the court system or whether you're repeating things you've heard on Mumsnet. A barrister is someone who is self employed and charges thousands. A solicitor can't instruct a barrister unless there is a budget to do so. But just as importantly, even when the money is available you'd instruct a barrister when you needed something particularly strong - for example a contested hearing on a finely balanced case where cross examination is key, or where there are very technical/nuanced legal arguments. You don't instruct a barrister for something where the applicant (the ex) doesn't appear to have any case other than 'I've got a legal process and I'm going to try it'. That's like employing an interior to paint a wall.

With respect @Nachostress, that's not really how legal aid works, or should work (apologies if you are a legal aid solicitor, I was one for many many years).
OP your solicitor should not be limiting the time they allocate to your case. They get paid a fixed fee, but they should do the work that is needed for your case. You don't need permission of the court to change solicitor. All your new solicitor would have to do is confirm to the legal aid agency that you have exhausted the complaints process with your previous solicitor - in practice this means you need to send a letter or email of complaint to your current solicitor explaining that you are unhappy with the service provided, and keep a copy of the letter. It may be quicker and easier to change solicitors within the same company if the department has other fee earners available, as then you don't have to transfer your legal aid certificate.
If you only have an interim child arrangements order, are the proceedings still ongoing? If so the court will probably deal with the application at the next listed hearing. If the proceedings have concluded, the courts have such a huge backlog at the moment that he probably won't get a hearing for a few months anyway.
On the facts as you've set them out, there's no way a court will order interim contact and you need to stop being so 'reasonable' in what you offer him.

@Nachostress again, sorry, that's just not accurate. Barristers do legal aid work and are often instructed to represent the respondent in a pointless case - often invaluably so as they could, for example, persuade the court to make a 91(14) order to prevent him making future applications without permission. A barrister will not cost a person in a children case with a legal aid certificate a penny. They are paid a fixed fee by the legal aid agency, the exact same fee as a solicitor would get for the hearing. The legal aid certificate should allow for a conference with the barrister before a hearing if needed.

Op sorry cross posted. you don't need to convince me, and I suspect you don't need to convince your solicitor either, of how dangerous your ex is. You've got the advice of children's services and your evidence which will be looked at by the judge.

It sounds like you're taking the fact that the application can be made as suggestion that people think your ex has a good case? It isn't at all. Your ex has a legal right to make the application. It's a legal right for his 'case' to be heard, that's all. You don't need to be panicking about that. Your solicitor is the only one who can accurately advise you of his chances, but from what you've posted he's got nothing, and you've got plenty of evidence to say that a) you've cooperated whenever it was reasonably safe to do so b) you've only stopped contact when you've had a credible threat to life and after taking advice from children's services.

He'll have his day in court, if he's wasting a judge's time it won't do him any favours in the long run.

Technically, your solicitor is correct.

Your ex can go to court and apply for changes in arrangements and even apply for custody, however, you are holding ample proof that he's a fucking psycho.

Police, HV and SS are all in agreement. There is documented proof that he is a menace to you and your daughter.

It is remiss of your solicitor not to have someone take your case while she's on annual leave - you can make a complaint to the firm.

Yours is an active and fluid case that needs someone 'on it' every day.

@wejammin I'm not saying you're wrong technically, but perhaps it's difference in current climate to the past? My experience is as social worker with (too many!) years of court experience, and some family members who are barristers in family law. The legal aid fees are so low these days that in practice solicitors cap how much work they will do on cases and how much time they will offer - I'm sure in theory they're meant to do the full job as it were, but in practice they will explain it to a family as X amount of time for the hearing and X amount of prep and that's it. I'm assuming its because the fees are so low these days that that's how they manage it. It's sadly common for parents to approach social workers (in care proceedings) to ask them to explain outcomes, go through legal docs etc, because the solicitor has refused - because they've calculated the fee to mean a certain number of hours support and they won't go over. Whether that's something they should be doing or not, it's been standard in the last ten years (I've worked in different parts of the country during that time so it's not linked to any particular court). The list of solicitors has shrunk over the years for the same reasons.
Similarly re barristers, when I first started practicing it was common to have a barrister for each party at every hearing. These days I only see it happen for lengthy contested hearings, or for an LA, when an in house solicitor isn't available. Again it's due to the funding cuts, its not worth their while to work for legal aid fees and far fewer will consider it these days. That's the view I've had from those I know in the profession who only get offered/take on the more complex work most of the time (and it isn't just about seniority either, it's across the board) Solicitors do far more in court than they used to, just as parents commonly end up representing themselves and judges end up providing a lot of support by necessity. The impact of legal aid changes is something I could rant about for days but I appreciate this isn't the thread to do so!

I do understand that he can exercise his legal right to make an application to transfer residence, this is nothing but a scare tactic.
It's an interim order for supervised contact whilst we wait for a section 7 to be ordered and authored.. The judge has anticipated that the former local authority does the section 7 with input from cafcass but my ex has kicked up a huge fuss about cafcass being involved so has submitted an application for an independent social worker funded by my legal aid certificate to author the section 7. I don't agree to this at all as we've had multiple independent social workers involved before and they were all deeply unprofessional, one of which I escalated a complaint to social work England and it resulted in a Panel disciplinary hearing.
Do cafcass get reinvolved when an enforcement application has been made also?

@Nachostress I only left legal aid practice 2 years ago. Maybe the solicitor culture is different in your part of the country. Anyway, we agree that the system is very much broken, and this is not the place to digress...
OP, if the application for enforcement is made within the existing proceedings then there won't be a further referral to CAFCASS. I cannot see that an application for an independent social worker will pass the necessity test if the former local authority is able to do the s7, it would not be proportionate. This is subject to whatever arguement he is using to ask for one of course, he may have a case.

His case is that the former local authority and cafcass are biased when in fact they have made their assertions on factual information.
I was of the understanding that cafcass are involved during enforcement proceedings, on the form it asks that a copy is sent to cafcass!

By the form, do you mean the order? If there is already an allocated cafcass officer they will need to receive the order, or it might just be that the court office have used standard wording on the order without noting that cafcass are not currently involved. Generally speaking, cafcass don't get involved in standalone enforcement applications because it's a different issue to child arrangements - the court is looking at whether your past behaviour in preventing contact was a reasonable breach or whether you should be 'punished' for breaching. In reality, enforcement applications are usually just made to get the case back in front of the judge to see what should happen next and enforcement orders (as in, punishment) are very very rarely made. There's no way an enforcement order will be made if you breached an order on the advice of children's services.

So he sent the enforcement application form, I forget the name of it but on the actual form it says that a copy is to be sent to cafcass also.
So all he's done is complete the form and provided a short two paragraph statement to say I've repeatedly breached the order on several dates listed and that I'm using DD as a means to control him... In the meanwhile, 3 of the proposed breaches are false dates. He's supplied no documentary evidence to support what he's saying. I'm very fortunate in that I keep copies of everything and also get everything in writing. When I've had a phone call, I follow up with writing.
So what's going to happen now, what will the next steps be?

Assuming you've had the form from him (via your solicitor), he will have sent it to court for issuing. The court will issue the application and the judge who is dealing with your case will look at it and decide whether to list the case for a directions hearing to deal with the enforcement application, or to deal with the application at the next hearing in the existing proceedings. You will get an order from the court confirming how the judge wants it dealt with. They may order statements to be filed in response to the application.

@wejammin just to quickly add that I happily stand corrected if some areas are still functioning better than where I've worked. The amount our solicitors do and the knowledge they bring to court (out of necessity) they should be paid barrister level fees imo.

@Terrified1202 I think I commented on a prior thread that I couldn't see any grounds for your ex being successful re an ISW (wanting to ask different people in the hope that you'll get a different answer isn't grounds despite many abusers believing it should be - actual bias has to have some evidential basis)