Prohibited Steps Orders

What a Prohibited Steps Order Is and Who Can Apply

A prohibited steps order is one of the section 8 orders under the Children Act 1989. The Act defines it as an order that no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court.

A parent, guardian or special guardian, anyone with parental responsibility by virtue of section 4A, and anyone named in a child arrangements order as a person the child lives with may apply for any section 8 order. Most grandparents, other relatives and step-parents without parental responsibility need the court's permission, which the court judges by the nature of the application, the applicant's connection with the child and the risk of harmful disruption. See grandparents' applications for contact.

The court can also make the order of its own motion, so it often sits alongside a child arrangements order application. Two limits apply: neither this order nor a specific issue order may be used to achieve a result which could be achieved by a child arrangements order, so an order aimed at contact is the wrong route; and for a child in the care of a local authority the only section 8 order available is a child arrangements order about where the child lives, which belongs to care proceedings and social services.

The Legal Test the Court Applies

The child's welfare is the court's paramount consideration in any question about a child's upbringing, and the Act treats delay as likely to prejudice that welfare.

Where the order is opposed the court works through the welfare checklist: the child's wishes and feelings in the light of age and understanding, physical, emotional and educational needs, the likely effect of change, age, sex, background and relevant characteristics, any harm suffered or risked, each parent's capability, and the range of powers open to the court. It also presumes, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of a parent furthers the child's welfare, meaning direct or indirect involvement rather than a division of time. That presumption applies only to a parent who can be involved without putting the child at risk of suffering harm, and evidence of such a risk displaces it.

No order is made unless the court considers it better for the child than none, so an application must show which step is threatened and why it would harm the child.

A section 8 order cannot be made for a child of sixteen or over, other than to vary or discharge one, unless the circumstances are exceptional, and an order otherwise ends at sixteen, or at eighteen where the court found the circumstances exceptional and made it last longer.

Evidence and Common Problems

A witness statement should identify the step you want stopped, what makes you believe it is about to be taken and the effect on the child. Messages, school correspondence, travel bookings and passport paperwork help.

The problems we see most often:

• asking for a sweeping prohibition instead of a step of a specified kind
• using the order for living arrangements or contact, which belong to a child arrangements order
• leaving out the welfare argument, so it reads as an objection rather than a risk
• applying when the step is days away, leaving no time to hear the other parent

Where harm or domestic abuse is alleged, form C1A goes in with the application. The court must consider abuse at every stage, should decide as soon as possible whether a fact-finding hearing is necessary, and should not make an interim child arrangements order unless satisfied that it is in the child's interests and that the order would not expose the child or the other parent to an unmanageable risk of harm. Allegations and fact-finding hearings covers that; a non-molestation order may be better protection for an adult. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999, and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is on 0808 2000 247.

How the Application Process Works

1. Attend a mediation information and assessment meeting, a legal requirement before most children applications unless a valid exemption applies, such as evidence of domestic abuse or an application made without notice.
2. Apply on form C100, the application for a child arrangements, prohibited steps or specific issue order, naming the step you want prohibited, with form C1A if you allege harm. A fee is payable; the published fee lists and the help with fees scheme for people on a low income are linked from the GOV.UK court fees page.
3. Gatekeeping and safeguarding. The court allocates the case and checks any claimed exemption, and Cafcass, or Cafcass Cymru in Wales, screens the application, speaks to each parent about safety only, and reports in a safeguarding letter before the hearing. Local authority and police checks are automatic on a child arrangements application and are made here where the Cafcass officer judges them necessary.
4. The first hearing. The court considers the safeguarding information, identifies what divides the parties, looks again at agreement or mediation, and gives directions, which may include a welfare report under section 7 of the Act.
5. Interim or final order. The court can make the order at any stage, for a specified period and with conditions.
6. Variation and discharge. A section 8 order includes any order varying or discharging it, and the court can order that a named person may not make further applications of a specified kind without its permission.

Urgent and Without Notice Applications

Where notice would defeat the purpose of the order, the court can deal with the application without notice. The Child Arrangements Programme says such orders should be made only exceptionally. The applicant must then serve the application on each respondent within 48 hours after the order is made, and within the same 48 hours the order on the parties, unless the court directs otherwise, and on anyone who has actual care of the child.

If a child has already been removed from the United Kingdom this is not the remedy, and international child abduction work begins instead. A parent or other person connected with the child who takes a child under sixteen out of the United Kingdom without the consent the Act requires, or the court's permission, can also commit an offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984. A person named in a child arrangements order as the person the child lives with may take the child abroad for less than a month, unless that breaches an order under Part 2 of the Children Act 1989.

When Legal Advice Is Especially Important

Advice counts most when the step is imminent and the facts are disputed, and an application drafted too widely can fail.

It counts just as much if you are on the receiving end: an order made without notice can be varied or discharged, and the hearing on notice is the moment to ask for the prohibition to be narrowed. Where the real argument is a permanent move, relocation with children and taking a child abroad set out what the court needs; where an order is already being ignored, enforcement of a child arrangements order is the route; and where travel raises a visa question our immigration solicitors advise separately.

How RakLAW Solicitors Can Help

RakLAW Solicitors is at 42 Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD. Founded by solicitor Rakesh Prajapati, the firm is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 8007405. Our family work is privately funded and we do not offer legal aid; how we charge is on our family law fees page.

We prepare the application and the evidence behind it, handle the mediation meeting or the exemption, and represent you at the hearing. Where agreement is realistic we say so: mediation and out of court options and MIAM advice explain those routes, and the rest sits under children matters. Book a free 15-minute consultation on 0203 345 2000 or through our contact page.