Sorry to hear of the issue.
You have a right to regular contact with your Daughter.
As their Father you have a right to see her regularly and the family court will encourage this and for you to have an active part in her upbringing. The court will order arrangements for you to see her on specified days and for how long if you cannot agree this with your ex partner. You can also ask for joint custody so she lives with you for part of the week if you wish.
If custody is to be considered then the welfare checklist of the child is relevant :
https://www.inbrief.co.uk/child-law/child-welfare-checklist/
You need to contact your ex and say that unless she allows you more contact, you will have to apply for a child arrangements order and if you are successful then you will ask the court to order she pays the cost. Give your ex 7 days to confirm their stance.
If she continues to refuse to allow you more contact, you need to contact a mediator as the court will want to know whether you have attended mediation first before involving the court - the mediator will contact your ex and if she refuses to attend then you are free to make the application to the court.
This is called “MIAM”, or a mediation assessment.
MIAM will not apply if there has been previous MIAM attendance by the parties, or if there are child protection concerns.
Other reasons would be urgency, so if there was a risk for the safety of the child (or the applicant), or if it would cause the applicant hardship. The other reason would be if there would be a miscarriage of justice if there was a delay.
Other reasons would be where there has been domestic violence and this has been evidenced (e.g. Police become involved), if you and your ex are in agreement and there is no dispute (so mediation is not required), or you do not know where your ex lives.
If social services are involved due to welfare and safety of the child then again, mediation is not required. Other reasons would be if your nearest mediator is more than 15 miles away from your location. If a mediator can show that MIAM is not appropriate because your ex refuses to attend then this is another reason. Likewise if you have applied for mediation in the last 4 months and the mediator has confirmed it is not suitable to resolve your dispute.
To find a mediator in your local area, use this site : https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/
In order to apply to the court, you will need to fill out and send form C100 (copy attached) with a cheque of £232 payable to HMCTS to your local family court centre. The form can also be found here: Click Here
Or you can ring the court and pay over the phone (or pay in person if you go directly to the court and pay at the counter). If you are on low income/have low savings you can apply for a fee exemption here: Click Here
Once you apply the court will list a hearing where you and your ex attends. There will be a family advisor there too (from Cafcass) who advises the court of what is in the children’s best interests and if arrangements can be agreed then an order will be drawn up.