Cafcass Addendum Report to the Court

Date of Application: 09/09/2022

Court: Birmingham (Private) - Family Court

Court Case Number: WV22P01144

Cafcass Number: 1135412

Application Type: CAO - Live With, CAO - Spend Time With

Hearing Type: Directions

Hearing Date: 09/10/2023

Cafcass Family Court Adviser: Lindsay Jones

Date Report Completed: 01/09/2023

Filing Date: 01/09/2023

Details of any current orders N/a

WARNING: This report is restricted by rules of court. Unauthorised communication of

the information in it is a serious matter and may constitute contempt of court
NOTE: Significant factual errors (not matters disputed by the parties) in this report
should be referred to the author. Any concerns about other aspects of the report (for
example, the extent of enquiries, the opinions expressed in it or matters disputed by
the parties) must be addressed in court
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Child/ren subject of the application
Name of child Gender Date of birth Age Ethnicity

Filip Alexandru Olaru Male 01/07/2019 4 years old White: Other

White

Adult parties to the proceedings

Name of party Gender Relationship Date of Ethnicity
to child birth
Iorgu-Marius Olaru Male Father 07/11/1980 White: Other
White
Mihaela Madalina Bigu Female Mother 17/05/1979 White:
European

Key agencies involved Details of involvement

Do not disclose location information where
there are risks for a child or party e.g.
instead of naming the school, say “Tom’s
school”.

Romania court application Cafcass have been requested by the Romania court to
complete a home check. The application remains
ongoing alongside the proceedings within the UK.

What is the purpose of the addendum report?

1. This is Mr Olaru’s application for a Child Arrangement Order to define the live
with and spend time with arrangements for his son, Filip.

2. This report should be read alongside the section 7 filed on the 19/06/2023. I do
not intend to repeat issues that have already been explored within that report
and this report instead will consider the information gained from Mr Olaru and
the amended final recommendations.

What has changed since the last report/new information received?

3. I had the opportunity to speak to Mr Olaru on the 01/08/2023 with the assistance
of an interpreter. Mr Olaru has informed me that he has yet to secure a property
in the UK and he is currently in Romania which meant that I was unable to
complete a home check.
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Analysis of change

4. Mr Olaru stated that he has the intention to move to the UK and that he will
remain in the country from September 2023. He told me that he is unsure where
he will reside when he does come to live in the UK. He told me that he will either
settle in London or Birmingham. Mr Olaru told me that his location would not
matter as he will travel for his son. He told me that he has always wished to
maintain a relationship with Filip, and it was Ms Bigu blocking him from all
communications which has prevented this. It remains unclear as to whether
distance is a risk that we need to consider when we are exploring how Filip can
be provided with a consistent and meaningful relationship with his father. If Mr
Olaru is to reside in London this would also make overnight stays difficult
without Filip having to travel a significant distance. Filip does not have a
relationship with his father and considering the factors of the home
circumstances of Mr Olaru, I believe that it is more appropriate to consider day
arrangements that are activity based at this time to encourage a positive
relationship to flourish.

5. I spoke to Mr Olaru about Ms Bigu’s concerns about his alcohol consumption

and he explained that he felt that Ms Bigu has just raised this as a concern as
she wants an excuse to keep him away from his son. Mr Olaru explained that
he works as a driver, and he cannot risk even one drink as he would lose his
job. There remains no independent evidence to consider in respect of the
concerns in respect of Mr Olaru’s alcohol use. I am of the view that Mr Olaru
should make an undertaking with the court that he will not use alcohol prior to
or during the time he spends with Filip. If he fails to do this, then it would indicate
that he is unable to prioritise Filip’s needs and the arrangements would need to
be reconsidered.

6. Ms Bigu has raised concerns about the presence of domestic abuse within her
and Mr Olaru’s relationship. Mr Olaru explained that their family was
extraordinary and as he did not have a dad when he was younger, he thought
the family was perfect. He denied that there was any domestic abuse present
within their relationship. Mr Olaru told me that the lies about the relationship
made him laugh and he told me that anyone can make up lies like that. There

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 remains no independent evidence about the relationship between Mr Olaru and
Ms Bigu. Ms Bigu has communicated that she is fearful of Mr Olaru, and I am
able to conclude that their relationship was not positive. I remain of the view
that it is likely that if parents were to meet directly that it would put Filip at risk
of experiencing domestic abuse or witnessing parental conflict. Filip has also
been caught up physically in the disagreements between parents when the
relationship ended. I do not believe it would be beneficial for Filip for his parents
to have any direct contact. Therefore, I would suggest any communication
between them should take place indirectly via email to allow them to pass
messages that are beneficial for Filip. I would also suggest that any handovers
in the future are either supported by a third party or conducted in a public place
to ensure that Filip is safeguarded against his parent’s negative relationship.

7. Filip still does not have a relationship with his father, and it is important that he
is supported to begin a relationship with Mr Olaru in a positive way. Due to this
I am of the view that a robust stepped arrangement plan is needed to support
Filip in forming a positive relationship with his father. I would suggest that the
following stepped arrangement is endorsed by the court:

• Mr Olaru should provide Filip with a recorded video message on a

weekly basis for a period of 6 weeks.

• Filip should spend supervised time (conducted by a professional

agency) for an hour every other week for period of 6 weeks.

• Filip should spend unsupervised time with Mr Olaru for two hours every
other week for a period of 6 weeks.

• Following the completion of the previous steps the arrangements should

develop to what is recommended in the final Child Arrangements Order.
Mr Olaru should be mindful that if Filip struggles to adjust to any stage
of the stepped arrangement plan, then there may be a need to extend
any one of the stages outlined above.

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Is there any change to recommendations/final recommendations?

8. Mr Olaru should make an undertaking with the court that he will not use alcohol
prior to or during any time he spends with Filip now or in the future.

9. The stepped arrangement outlined in section 7 of this report should be utilised

to support Filip in forming a positive relationship with Mr Olaru.

10. I recommend that the court endorse a Child Arrangements Order for Filip to
spend the follow time with his dad in the following way:

• Mr Olaru should begin to develop his relationship with Filip via recorded
video messages or if this is not possible email. This should take place
on a weekly basis and Ms Bigu should support Filip to access these and
reply if he wishes.

• Once Mr Olaru is officially based in the UK and settled the time Filip
spends with Mr Olaru should develop to every other Sunday 10:00am
until 4:00pm. This should be activity based and take place locally to Filip.
If Mr Olaru fails to be consistent with this arrangement or relocates back
to Romania the arrangements should revert to those recommended in
the section 7 dated 19/6/2023.

• Ms Bigu should send updates to Mr Olaru on Filip’s progress, education,

health, and achievements every 6 weeks to ensure that Mr Olaru can
continue to provide relatable communication to Filip and remain up to
date on Filip’s wellbeing.

11. There is no further work for Cafcass.

In compiling this report, I have had regard in particular to the welfare checklist as
required by Rule 16.20/16.33 Family Procedure Rules 2010 and I have applied a
welfare checklist analysis to the facts of the case throughout.

A copy of this report has also been sent to the parties.

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Signed:

Name: Lindsay Jones

Cafcass Role: Family Court Adviser

Date: 01/09/2023

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