Rejected petition: Amend the Children Act to give siblings contact rights in care cases.
Rejected on
Amend the Children Act 1989 to create a legal presumption that siblings maintain contact when a child enters care if safe and in the child's best interests. Require local authorities to identify siblings, including adults, and give written reasons if contact is refused.
Children in care are often separated from their brothers and sisters, including adult siblings, despite these relationships providing stability, identity and emotional support. Current law does not adequately protect sibling relationships, leading to inconsistent decisions. We want the Children Act 1989 strengthened so local authorities must identify siblings, support contact where it is safe and in the child's best interests, and give written reasons when contact is refused or restricted.
Why was this petition rejected?
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Under new legislation which amends the Children Act 1989, all local authorities in England and Wales will be required to promote and facilitate contact for children in care who are separated from their siblings.
Section 10 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will put sibling contact on the same footing as contact with parents, guardians or those previously authorised to care for the child, who are already covered by the section 34 duty.
Section 34 of the Children's Act 1989 has a duty to "allow the child reasonable contact with their parents or guardian, etc.
You can read more about this here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/21/section/10/enacted
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