Commenting on the government decision to roll out a new family court model – Child Focused Courts – across the whole of England and Wales, Stephen Burke, Chair of The Family Mediation Council, said:
“The data from the trial period of Child Focused Courts is impressive, with a halving of family court backlogs and cases resolved more quickly: up to seven and a half months faster.
“The roll out is an important development, and we are grateful to Ministers for their commitment to ensuring swifter outcomes for separating families. The new model promises to further speed up proceedings to ensure children and families are able to get stability more quickly, rather than being left in limbo waiting for settlements for much longer than is acceptable.
“Equally important are rules that ensure families who do not need the protection of the court consider resolving issues before an application to court is made. Data shows that family mediation prevents some 69% of cases from reaching courts in the first place.
“The process of family mediation helps separating families put children’s interests first as they make arrangements over parenting, property and money.”
Child Focused Courts currently operate in 10 of 43 court areas in England and Wales, including all of Wales, Birmingham, the West Midlands, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and West Yorkshire.
£17m in Government funding for the next financial year will help enable the initial rollout across Northumbria and North Durham, Cleveland and South Durham, Lancashire, Cumbria, York and North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Merseyside, Northamptonshire, and Coventry and Warwickshire. It will then expand across the rest of England and Wales over the upcoming financial years.
Child Focused Courts were previously known as Pathfinder Courts. The new courts will streamline court processes to reduce delays; identify risks to a child’s welfare more quickly; and strengthen coordination between the family court and agencies, such as local authorities and the police, particularly when dealing with allegations of domestic abuse and other harms. This is expected to reduce the number of returning cases, protecting children and families from further trauma.
