Case summary: failure to comply with a contact order

The recent decision of Glasgow Sheriff Court in Charlie Foxtrot v Delta Echo [2026] SCGLW76 considered an application alleging failure to comply with a court order regulating contact between a child and a parent.

The case concerned a contact order which provided for regular contact between the father and his child. Contact operated satisfactorily as per the order for almost two years. However, arrangements later broke down and contact did not continue in accordance with the terms of the order.

The father sought enforcement of the contact order, alleging that the mother had failed to take appropriate steps to facilitate the contact arrangements. The mother’s position was that the child did not wish to continue contact. The court considered the circumstances surrounding the breakdown in contact, including the parties’ respective positions and the steps taken in relation to the existing order.

Sheriff Reid found that the mother had failed to comply with the terms of the court order and found her to be in contempt of court, as it is the duty and responsibility of the parent with whom the child primarily resides to encourage, promote and facilitate the child’s contact with the other parent. The court concluded that the appropriate penalty for the defender was a custodial sentence of seven days’ imprisonment.

The decision provides an example of the court’s approach where there are allegations that a party has failed to comply with a child contact order. It also highlights the distinction between a child expressing views about contact and the responsibilities placed on parents in relation to compliance with court orders. The issue was not whether the child wished to have contact with their father or not, but what steps had been taken by the defender to encourage, promote and facilitate contact between the father and his child. Only in exceptional circumstances would a reasonable excuse for wilful non compliance with a contact order be capable of being established.

It is noted that the mother could have taken steps to try to vary the contact order, based upon a change of circumstances, and her position being that the child did not want to exercise contact. 

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