Families, children and victims of domestic abuse will be spared
the trauma of going to court thanks to a multi-million-pound
expansion of an innovative pilot across Wales and West
Yorkshire.
The £12.5 million funding boost comes as new figures published
today (3 February) show the Pathfinder scheme is resolving cases
faster, with family court backlogs reduced by half in pilot
areas.
The Pathfinder pilot works by bringing together local
authorities, police and support services to gather and share
information on cases as early as possible.
This saves children and families from having to go through
unnecessary and potentially hostile hearings. As part of
delivering on its Plan for Change and mission to halve violence
against women and girls, the scheme also provides extra support
to victims of domestic abuse.
New figures published today show the approach is working, with
cases being resolved 11 weeks quicker, and the backlog of cases
reducing by 50 per cent across both Dorset and North Wales.
, the Minister for Family
Justice, said:
“For too long families have been pitted against each other in the
court room, or abusers have hijacked proceedings to continue
campaigns of cruelty. Children and vulnerable people bear the
brunt of this, and it must stop.
“Pathfinder has been welcomed as a less adversarial approach, and
early evidence shows it's working. This is another important step
to achieving our promise of halving violence against women and
girls.”
A primary focus of the courts is improving information sharing
between agencies to allow for more informed decision making,
fewer bureaucratic hearings, less time in court and quicker
resolution to cases. The courts can also offer specialist support
to victims of domestic abuse through Independent Domestic
Violence Advisors (IDVAs).
To further help separating families resolve conflict, the
Government's family mediation vouchers scheme will also be
extended to March 2026.
The programme, which provides £500 to help couples settle issues
before they get to court, has provided helped over 37,700
families to date, with early analysis showing 70 per cent of
recipients reach a whole or partial agreement thanks to
mediation.
Since the voucher scheme was introduced in April 2021, the number
of applications being made to court has
dropped - avoiding thousands of these cases a year,
which could save taxpayers millions of pounds.
There were 50,807 private law applications in 2023, compared to
55,711 in 2020.
It also saves families, especially children, from a potentially
length and damaging court process.
Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said:
"Improving the Family Court is a key priority for my office. It
is clear to me that Pathfinder Courts recognize the impact of
domestic abuse and consider children's needs much earlier than in
the traditional Family Court.
"I believe this approach is essential to ensuring the protection
of victims in the family justice system. I welcome Government's
commitment to this pilot and look forward to seeing its influence
on all Family Courts."
The family mediation voucher scheme was introduced in 2021
as a pilot to help relieve backlogs in the family court caused by
the pandemic.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The Pathfinder pilot launched in Dorset and North Wales in
February 2022, it expanded to South East Wales in April 2024, and
Birmingham in May 2024.
- The expansion is set to launch in Mid and West Wales on 3
March, and in West Yorkshire on 3 June.
- Data published today shows:
- The average case length since the pilot started has reduced
by from 29 weeks to 18 weeks in North Wales, and 38 weeks to 27
weeks in Dorset
- The number of open cases has halved since the pilot started,
from 478 to 202 in North Wales, and 511 to 246 in Dorset.
