Going Away for Christmas? Remember the Kids!
-“Did I turn off the coffee?”
-“No… I did.”
-“Did you lock up?”
-“Yeah.”
-“Did we set the timers on the lights?”
-“Yeah.”
-“Did you close the garage?”
-“That’s it. I forgot to close the garage, that’s it…No, that’s not it.”
-“Well, what else could we be forgetting?……KEVIN!”
Most people are aware of the time when little Macaulay Culkin’s fictional parents went away for Christmas leaving him Home Alone; how many parents are aware that they may need to obtain permission to travel with a child?
If you do not have parental responsibility for the child you are proposing to travel with you will need permission from those who do. Without that permission, you could be found to have ‘abducted the child/children’ under the 1984 Child Abduction Act. That seems simple enough, right? Actually, even if you are someone who does have parental responsibility for the child, there are circumstances in which you may also need permission from the other parent or person with parental responsibility or indeed the court, to travel with them.
Under the Children Act 1989, parental responsibility is automatically vested in both parents who have children whilst married to one another. If parents are not married when the child is born, only the mother automatically has parental responsibility. The other parent would obtain parental responsibility in the following circumstances:
•They marry the child’s mother and are living England and Wales at the time of the marriage;
•They enter into a parental responsibility agreement which is then filed at court;
•The court orders that this person has parental responsibility;
•They are named in a Child Arrangements Order as having parental responsibility;
•They are named on the birth certificate of the child (if the child is born after 2003);
•They become the child’s guardian;
•They adopt the child.
Someone with parental responsibility has, under the Children Act, ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of the child has in relation to the child and his property.’
This means, in this context, that if you have parental responsibility for a child and you do intend to take them on holiday, you should obtain the written consent of the other person with parental responsibility for the child before you go. The other person will need to know where you are taking the child and the contact details to be used when you are there. You may wish to obtain or provide written evidence of your consent and the necessary contact details to whoever will be travelling with the child. It is also important to check with your particular travel service provider what requirements will need to be met at your destination before travel. In some circumstances, a statutory declaration may be required.
If you cannot obtain consent, you may make an application to the court for a specific issue order asking for permission to take the child on holiday. This will involve demonstrating that you intend to return the child following the holiday. As this application may take some time, we would advise that you make this application as soon as possible. You may need to take these steps even if you are only taking the child to another part of England. The court will only make this order if it considers that it is in the best interests of the child to do so.
If you do not obtain permission then the other parent or person with parental responsibility for the child may apply for a ‘Port Alert’ or to the court for a Prohibited Steps Order to prevent you from travelling with the child. You also risk criminal proceedings and of course may cause the child unnecessary distress should the police become involved.
As a rule of thumb it is advisable to seek the necessary permission in good time to enable any issues to be resolved before your planned departure date.
Ultimately, a Christmas away from home should be an exciting time for children. Those with parental responsibility should ensure that their interests come first and that the potential issues around travelling with them have been addressed and settled before the festive season begins. Going on holiday can be stressful as it is, so make sure that all you have left to worry about in the rush to set off is whether you set the timer on the fairy lights.
If you would like advice on parental responsibility, please contact the Family team on 01332 364436.
Jessica Barnett
November 2017