In recent years, the Family Justice System in England and Wales has faced increasing pressure and delays within family proceedings have become more common. These delays are significantly affecting families by way of uncertainty in respect of arrangements; potentially putting children at risk of harm, and causing families further anxiety, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO).
The Family Justice System handles all matters involving children, including:
- Children’s living arrangements and arrangements for them to spend time with the parent with whom they are not living
- Child protection cases
- Domestic Abuse protection
- Adoption and care proceedings
- Divorce and separation, together with financial arrangements following the breakdown of a marriage, which also affect any children of the family
The Family Court’s aim is to protect children and assist families to resolve disputes in a way that enables children to have and maintain a relationship with both parents, provided it is safe for them to do so. However, the delays in the Family Court result in children waiting longer for permanence in their arrangements and, for some children who are under the care of the Local Authority, this has caused them to suffer the disruption of multiple short-term placements. Children in these situations, hampered by Court delays, often experience anxiety, a lack of stability, disrupted arrangements to spend time with family members, together with lack of continuity in respect of friendships and educational arrangements, sometimes due to numerous changes of address.
There are several things causing these delays, including:
- Backlog from Covid
- Rising case numbers
- Staffing issues
- Limited resources, with Courts and the Legal Aid Agency operating with tight budgets
On of the findings of the NAO audit was that average spending on Legal Aid cases has doubled, mainly due to cases taking longer to conclude. This coupled with cuts to the availability of Legal Aid have led to a growing number of unrepresented families within the Court system. These cases can take longer, due to the deeply emotional issues that individuals are dealing with, without the benefit of legal advice, which often extends the proceedings.
The amount of funding received on Legal Aid cases has not been increased for many years. Because of this, scores of solicitors’ firms are leaving the Legal Aid sector because they cannot afford to keep undertaking Legal Aid work under the current funding regime. As a result, there are far less solicitor’ firms available to take on Legal Aid cases, which creates a vicious cycle, placing further pressure on the remaining Legal Aid firms, and causing there to be even more unrepresented families within family court proceedings, generating further building pressure upon the Family Justic system. The decreasing number of solicitors’ firms undertaking Legal Aid work, in some areas of the country, has ended up with what are called “Legal Aid Deserts” arising, which means in some areas it is not possible for members of the public to access any nearby Legal Aid firms.
Family Courts are supposed to act quickly in the best interests of children and families, but when they are overwhelmed, especially when dealing with many unrepresented parents, that principle is hard to uphold.
Court staff, Judges and professionals work extremely hard to get the best outcomes for the public, but the government needs to invest more and take a broader approach to make sure the Justice System meets the needs of the children and families. In addition, the government needs to provide more money for Legal Aid funding. This is particularly to enable families to secure early legal advice, which could result in less people making applications to Court, because they are able to resolve matters having had the benefit of early legal advice.
At Johnson Astills we have a dedicated Domestic Violence and Abuse Department (DVAD) Family Team and Care Team. If you have any further questions and require legal advice please contact Johnson Astills on 0116 2554855, or visit our website at www.johnsonastills.com.
