Case No. EWFC-93

36.The father seeks direct regular contact with A, leading to a shared care arrangement. He would agree to the contact being supervised either professionally or ideally by his family. He does not agree with the psychiatric assessment.37.The mother accepts the recommendation of the guardian.38.The guardian recommends indirect contact only at this stage. The guardian encourages the father to seek support to abstain from illicit substance misuse and continue to engage in therapeutic work. 39.The guardian is very concerned that the father has indicated his intention to reapply at the earliest opportunity if these proceedings do not yield the result he seeks. This would mean that A is subjected to further litigation immediately and this could have a negative impact upon him especially given the protracted nature of these proceedings which commenced in 2020. The guardian would encourage the father to seek support from substance abuse and therapeutic services in accordance with the recommendations of Dr Nadeem and in her report before making any further application to the Court. The guardian has stated that she would likely feel unable to recommend reassessment by an expert (preferably Dr Nadeem, if possible) if the father has not progressed with the recommendations which have already been made. If, however, the father accepts the recommended support and is able to make progress then there would certainly be a strong argument for reassessment by an expert. This, in turn, would then feed into being able to consider there being a progression of the arrangements around A’s relationship with his father.V