Putting children first: A new era for family court disputes

Sir Andrew McFarlane, the country’s most senior family judge, has endorsed the Government’s plans for a new “child-focused” approach to family court cases involving children.

Sir Andrew described it as the “biggest change” to family court cases in 30 years, and that the child centric focus “turns the old approach on its head.”

Since 2022, the country has piloted the new scheme, and over the next three years England and Wales will roll it out nationwide. These changes will affect thousands of family court cases.

Many parents now represent themselves in court without legal advice, or a lawyer, because of the high costs. People can usually get legal aid only in domestic abuse cases, though social services involvement may also make them eligible.

Where there is no legal input, cases can take far longer to resolve, sometimes years. In addition, attending court and self representing can be traumatic for parents.

The new child focused court approach aims to change that.

Before the case gets to court, a Children and Family Court Advisory Service (Cafcass) worker will meet the child, and the parents, to prepare a report for the judge.

Sir Andrew said: “The judge will say, is this what’s going on? Well, look at the impact on your child of what you two are doing. What are we going to do to make things better? What are we going to do in the future for this child? So it’s a fundamentally different approach, a problem-solving approach, that requires more resources, particularly from Cafcass.”

Some £17m of new funding will help to recruit and train more Cafcass social workers.

The government has promised additional funding over the next three years as they roll out the scheme nationwide. But, it will take time for the government to train advisers, court staff, judges, and magistrates.

Justice Minister Baroness Levitt KC said the new approach could “help spare more children the pain of drawn-out proceedings, deliver swifter justice for families, and ensure support comes earlier when families need it most.” She then added that it had already “halved backlogs and resolved cases months faster in pilot areas.”

The Association of Lawyers for Children praised the launch, but warned the fresh strategy may not “deliver truly transformative change” unless it is backed by “broader reform and sufficient investment in the chronically underfunded legal aid system, along with proper funding for Cafcass and the family courts.”

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