Courts must work better for the people who use them

Children will be at the heart of the system when the largest family justice reforms for a generation come into effect on 22 April. The new single family court will become a reality and provisions from the Children and Families Act will be implemented.

The 2011 Family Justice Review, chaired by David Norgrove, found that the family justice system was no system
at all. Vulnerable and damaged children, who were meant to be protected, were having their ‘futures undermined’.

Excessive delays were
rife, with care and supervision
cases taking 56 weeks. Such delays harmed children’s chances of finding a permanent home, potentially damaging development, as well as
causing distress.

Until now, the system has been confusing, with the High Court, county courts and magistrates’ courts all dealing with family matters. It was also inflexible and did not allow for judges, court staff and buildings to be used in the best way, which led to unnecessary delays when cases transferred between different jurisdictions.

I am very proud of the achievements made so far by those working in the family justice system to reverse this situation so that it works much better for children and better protects them too.

Family proceedings courts
will cease to exist from 22 April, while magistrates’ courts and the new single county court
will no longer hear family proceedings. Instead, nearly
all cases will be heard in the Family Court. The High Court
will only hear specialist family matters reserved exclusively.

The new single jurisdiction
in England and Wales – the Family Court – will create a
much simpler system, with all levels of judge being able to sit in the same building and greater flexibility for cases to be allocated to the right judge
from the start.

It will be easier for people using the courts too. They
will simply submit applications to the Family Court in their
area, which will be allocated
to the right level of judge in the most suitable location. Lay magistrates, district judges, circuit judges and High Court judges will work in one court, meaning more effective and efficient use of their time,
court staff and buildings.

Further crucial changes to
the family justice system also come into effect from 22 April. These are included in the Children and Families Act,
and will affect both public
and private law proceedings.

Cutting time

The key change for public law, intended to help cut the time taken for care and supervision cases, is the introduction of
a 26-week time limit. Figures
show the average length of cases has fallen significantly from 56 weeks in 2011 to 33 weeks now.

Local family justice boards,
the courts service and the judiciary have all played their part, and the pilot Public Law Outline, implemented in 2013, has given further impetus. This
is a great achievement, made possible by a huge amount of work by many people working
in the family justice system.

In private law, we want
more people to resolve family disputes outside court. To address this, we are encouraging separating couples to resolve their disputes through family mediation – earlier and with
less conflict.

We have changed the law so that people will have to consider mediation before litigating in financial and children disputes – unless they are for a special reason exempt. We are further supporting this process through an uncapped budget for legal aid to cover both the initial meeting and the resulting mediation sessions for all
those eligible.

Underpinning these changes is a whole raft of secondary legislation as well as significant changes to rules and practice directions. These cover everything from the allocation of business to appeals, and will help make sure that the system works as a coherent whole.

It will be a significant moment when the proposals made by
the family justice review are delivered. I want to continue the job David Norgrove started so that, from now on, children’s welfare is at the heart. 

Simon Hughes is minister for justice and civil liberties

www.simonhughes.org.uk