One of the many issues which arise during the Covid-19 “lockdown” is that of parents living apart, and the movement of children between two different domiciles where such arrangements were in place prior to the lockdown. Ditto, where contact arrangements with the non-resident parent were less than shared care.

The Government has issued guidance on this matter, and the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has reiterated the main point, which is this,

“Where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes. This establishes an exception to the mandatory ‘stay at home’ requirement; it does not, however, mean that children must be moved between homes.” (emphasis as in the original).

However, a very obvious question is what will actually happen in practice. Moreover, the effect of the lockdown may change as time wears on. To capture data on the actual effects, the charity FNF Both Parents Matter Cymru has created an online survey “Survey of separated parents’ shared care of children during Covid 19 pandemic“. If you are a separated parent with shared care or contact arrangements, please complete the survey via that link. Also, please pass the link on to anyone else for whom it may be relevant. UK residents only, please.

If you have problems with that link you can also complete the survey on the charity’s web site (it’s the first thing you see).

Many thanks.