Contacts and resources

These organisations are mentioned throughout the guide. Numbers and opening hours were checked in November 2026, but services change, so check the website too.

Advice about children's social care

• Family Rights Group: free, independent advice for parents and kinship carers dealing with children's social care. Advice line 0808 801 0366, Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 3pm. They also run online forums and webchat. frg.org.uk

Legal help

• Civil Legal Advice: checks whether you can get legal aid and can refer you to a legal aid solicitor. 0345 345 4345, Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 12.30pm. gov.uk/check-legal-aid
• Find a legal aid adviser: search for family law solicitors who do legal aid work in England and Wales. find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk
• Law Society, Find a Solicitor: for child protection, section 20Section 20. Local-authority accommodation of a child without a care order. The child becomes looked after, but the local authority does not gain parental responsibility. Agreement must be informed and genuinely voluntary. Rights…, PLOPLO / Public Law Outline / pre-proceedings. Formal process when the local authority is considering an application for a care or supervision order. or care proceedings, look for a public law children solicitor, ideally with Children Law Accreditation. For private disputes about child arrangements, look for a family law solicitor, ideally with Family Law Accreditation. solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk

If you're affected by domestic abuse

• ManKind Initiative: national helpline for male victims of domestic abuse. 0808 800 1170, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. mankind.org.uk
• Men's Advice Line: run by Respect, for male victims of domestic abuse and the people supporting them. 0808 801 0327, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm. mensadviceline.org.uk

Complaints

• Local Government and Social Care OmbudsmanLocal Government and Social Care Ombudsman. An independent body that can consider complaints about local authority services. It usually expects the relevant local authority complaints procedure to be completed first, although it may accept a complaint early in…: free and independent, once you have been through the local authority's complaints process. Normally within 12 months. lgo.org.uk

In a crisis

• Emergency: if anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• NHS 111: urgent mental health support in England, any time. Call 111 and choose the mental health option. nhs.uk
• CALM: for anyone having suicidal thoughts, 0800 58 58 58, every day, 5pm to midnight. thecalmzone.net
• Samaritans: someone to listen, free, any time. 116 123. samaritans.org
• Your GP: for anything affecting your sleep, eating, work or mood. Ask for an urgent appointment if you need one.

None of these services can tell you what will happen in your case. What they can do is make sure you're not carrying it on your own.