Government’s response to Family Justice Review

The Government’s response to the Norgrove report which recommended a number of reforms to the family justice system has just been published. The Government has accepted most of the recommendations within the review which fundamentally aim to tackle delays in those cases involving children in the care of Local Authorities, and to provide better support for separating parents in private law cases.

The Government takes the view that all private law children cases should be resolved out of court. The Government’s belief is that in most circumstances, a mother and father working together are the best people to make arrangements for their children following separation. It therefore proposes to introduce a mandatory legislative requirement that if you want to make an application to the Court about your children, you must first attend a mediation session to be given information about mediation as an alternative process.

The Government supports the idea of Parenting Agreements for such couples, to provide a basic framework for the care of children following separation.

The Government has stopped short of making any legislative recommendation about shared parenting being a presumption for those couples separating and divorcing with children. The Norgrove report recommended extreme caution about such legislation being introduced and stated that lessons should be learnt from other countries where shared parenting was automatically granted upon separation and divorce: The fear is that this gives rise to a presumption that children will spent equal time with both parents, which may not necessarily be in a particular child’s best interests, depending upon family circumstances. However the Government has said that it wants to introduce legislation about ensuring children have an ongoing relationship with both parents after separation.

The Government’s basic approach for children cases is twofold:

1. To try and put systems in place to support families so that they do not need to go to court
2. If they do end up in Court, to ensure that the legal procedure they face is quick and straightforward

A new website and telephone line is to be set up during 2012 to provide parents with better information and access to support services, when separating and divorcing.