Children who have been removed from their parents by the state are waiting for an average of 46 weeks to receive a final decision on where they will live, data from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has shown.
The Law Society of England and Wales warned yesterday that tens of thousands of children are being left waiting for decisions as a result of care proceedings or parental separation, with cases often taking over a year to resolve.
Cafcass currently has 31,961 open children’s cases, with 52,276 individual children affected.
In 13 out of the 42 designated family judge areas in England and Wales, the wait time for children is double the recommended Government target of 26 weeks.
The worst-hit areas for public law delays in quarter four of 2022/2023 were in both east and west London, and Norwich, where wait times sat at 60 weeks. The West Midlands towns of Wolverhampton and Telford were in second, with average waits of 58 weeks.
80,000 Children Caught Up In Family Law Proceedings
Children affected by private family law cases, who are waiting for decisions on living arrangements after their parents have separated, also face similar delays. According to The Law Society, there are currently more than 80,000 children caught up in private family law proceedings, with reference to court statistics.In 2022, the average case duration in private family law was 44.9 weeks, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice’s family court statistics, from January to March 2023.
In a press release, Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: “What is often missed in the debate around the unacceptable backlogs in our family courts is the impact on children.
“They are suffering the very real consequences of months and sometimes years of uncertainty about their future, preventing them from having the stability they need to thrive.”
Politicians Encouraged To Take More Advice Before Legislating
Senior barrister James Bogle told The Epoch Times by text: “This has been caused in no small part by the virtual abolition of legal aid in private law children cases. That was a false economy because parties unable to afford lawyers then represent themselves and that, in turn, causes significant delays which clog up the system.“Then, on top of that, specially qualified counsel frequently has to be appointed by the court to cross-examine vulnerable witnesses. The result is considerably increased cost on top of significant delays. It was almost certainly cheaper and more efficient to retain legal aid. Politicians need to take proper advice before legislating.”
Ms. Shuja added: “The Government is focused on introducing mandatory mediation in family cases as the way to solve the backlogs in the courts, but mediation is not always appropriate.
“Early legal advice means separating couples can get the guidance they need to identify the solution that works for them—solicitors can assist in negotiating settlements or refer them to mediation where appropriate.”
The Law Society is calling on the Government to restore early legal advice in family law cases to help parents better understand their rights and their options for resolving issues involving children.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We want to support family disputes to be resolved as effectively and quickly as possible and where appropriate to avoid the stress and conflict of the courtroom.
“That is why we have been taking decisive action to improve waiting times in the family courts, with over 3,000 more private law cases reaching conclusion in 2022 than in 2017, and are investing £24 million in our landmark mediation scheme to prevent disputing parents from needing to go to court in the first place—while also investing millions in early legal support for those who do need to see a judge.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
