ITV News highlights the punitive use of contact orders against family members
Today 16th February, ITV News have broadcast a news story on contact orders. Forty-five families who have a relative with a learning disability have been banned from visiting their relative or had restrictions imposed on visits after raising concerns about the way their loved ones are being treated.
Contact orders are legal orders applied by the Court of Protection when a local authority or public body thinks that contact is causing harm to a person who lacks the capacity to make their own decisions about how often they see their family. These should be applied when contact needs to be managed in someone’s best interests, but the ITV news investigation suggests that these legal orders are being used inappropriately to restrict families contact with their loved ones when they raise valid concerns about their support.
The right to a family life is protected under the Human Rights Act. For people with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges – who often cannot communicate verbally, need lifelong support, and cannot raise concerns in writing themselves – family contact is fundamental to their wellbeing and safety. When concerns are raised, these should be considered and addressed, but families we support tell us that in too many cases their concerns have instead been responded to by restricting their contact with their relative.
The Challenging Behaviour Foundation and others are seeing a growing trend in the punitive use of contact orders due to a lack of high-quality support and services in the community which can support people with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges. Jacqui Shurlock, CEO of The Challenging Behaviour Foundation, spoke to ITV News about the impact of contact orders being applied to families, restricting their ability to see their relative, after they have raised concerns. Jacqui said:
“There’s 100% a system that’s letting families down and that causes the disputes over the quality of care and the differences in contact. The court is only able to look in the individual’s best interest in terms of what’s actually available from the local authority.
So, the local authority is putting on the table support for this individual with this provider with a contact order, or no support. And so, the decision then is made to go with that in the best interest of the individual, but really the best interest of the individual would be a much higher quality care in the first place.
I think there’s a lack of understanding about how to work well with families, especially when they’ve experienced that kind of trauma throughout their relatives’ lives. So we see so often people labelled as difficult, whereas in fact they have a justified scepticism about what providers or local authorities or health bodies are doing due to the experience they’ve had previously.”
What should be happening:
- Commissioners need to invest in developing sufficient high quality local support and services for people with severe learning disabilities
- Commissioning decisions need to be long-term and based on providing high-quality care over someone’s lifetime – not short-term and focused on yearly budgets.
- Discussions and decisions about contact should be person-centred and involve everyone affected. Risks should be balanced against benefits – for example, the importance of family bonds, the protection and security they provide, and the joy they bring to people’s lives.
- We need systemic change, so that families’ expertise is valued and so that systems do not inflict trauma. Families concerns that there relative is unsafe must be taken seriously.
- Partnership-working with families is essential – when there are disagreements, there needs to be a collaborative approach to resolving these.
- If restrictions are needed, they should be necessary, proportionate, time-limited, and reviewed with clear evidence. There shouldn’t be blanket rules or restrictions made due to one isolated incident.
- Professionals and providers need training to understand systems-generated trauma, and how to use trauma-informed approaches when working with people and their families.
If your relative has a severe learning disability our Family Support Service can provide information and support.
You can call the Family Support Service on 0300 666 0126 or email us at support@thecbf.org.uk
We are open at the following times:
Monday – Thursday: 9am – 5pm
Friday: 9am – 3pm
Please note, we are not a crisis service and we cannot always support during an emergency. If you or someone you support finds themselves in need of urgent help or a crisis situation arises, please refer to the ‘crisis support’ information provided here: Crisis-support.pdf.
For information to help you understand what is meant by poor support and abuse, and who to talk to if you suspect your relative is coming to harm or not being cared for properly please visit the When Things Go Wrong section of our website.