- Family courts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to adopt new
pilot model.
- Pathfinder courts are resolving cases seven and a half months
quicker - tackling backlogs and shielding children from further
trauma.
- Part of the Government's Plan for Change to stand up for
victims, protect children and restore faith in the justice
system.
Thousands more children will receive swifter justice, access
better support and be shielded from further trauma as a new
family court model is expanded to the Isle of Wight and
Hampshire.
Today (Tuesday 6 January), KC has confirmed that the
“Pathfinder” family court model is expanding to Hampshire and the
Isle of Wight. The expansion introduces earlier identification of
risk to improve children's safety and streamlines court processes
to increase efficiency and reduce delays.
The model will also bolster coordination between the family court
and agencies, such as local authorities and the police, when
dealing with allegations of domestic abuse and other harms. This
should in turn reduce the number of returning cases, protecting
children and families from further trauma.
The move follows the recent expansion of the model to the Black
Country, Stoke-on-Trent and Worcester.
It comes as figures from trial areas in South East Wales and
Birmingham published in November showed this new, innovative
approach is working. Cases are being resolved up to seven and a
half months more quickly, with the backlog in family courts
reducing by over 50 per cent.
The decision to extend the rollout of Pathfinder courts is a key
pillar of the Government's Plan for Change to protect children,
helping deliver the government's new strategy to halve
violence against women and girls in a decade, and restore
faith in the justice system.
Justice Minister KC said:
“The right of every child to a happy, healthy and safe childhood
is non‑negotiable. When relationships between parents break down,
the courts must respond without delay to protect children and
prevent any further distress. That's exactly what our Pathfinder
courts are doing.
“Extending this model to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight courts
is a critical move to protect children from the damaging effects
of family breakdown, which can, sadly, include domestic abuse.
“Our resolve is clear: protect victims, restore faith in the
justice system and deliver our Plan for Change.”
As part of the expansion of Pathfinder, victims of domestic abuse
will also be able to access specialist support through
Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs).
Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for
England and Wales, said:
“Domestic abuse is everyday business for the Family Courts, but
victims have told me for many years about failures to adequately
recognise and respond to it.
“The Pathfinder approach has improved victim-survivors'
experiences and seen cases resolved more quickly, so I'm pleased
to see it being rolled out to more areas.
“To ensure survivors and their children are being protected, it's
important that there is rigorous oversight of the changes being
made and continued accountability in the Family Courts.”
This move follows a series of key changes designed to
protect both child and adult victims from violence and abuse.
These include the landmark decision to repeal the presumption of
parental involvement enshrined in the Children Act
1989, moving away from the idea of the ‘rights' of parents and
instead focusing squarely on children's safety. We will also
remove parental
responsibility from people who have been convicted of a serious
sexual offence against any child, and where a child
is born of rape.
Protecting both parents and children, these amendments to the
Victims and Courts Bill are a critical part of the government's mission to
halve violence against women and girls in a decade,
launched on 19 December.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Published management information [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pathfinder-pilot-ad-hoc-management-information]
from South East Wales and Birmingham from August 2023 to August
2025 showed:
- Average case duration over 3 months reduced by 11-30
weeks.
-
- South East Wales: 37 weeks to 12 weeks
- Birmingham: 53 weeks to 23 weeks
- The private law open caseload reduced by over
50%.
-
- South East Wales: 1082 to 450 cases
- Birmingham: 1456 to 648 cases
- In the Pathfinder courts, the usual procedure set out in the
Child Arrangements Programme (CAP) is suspended and replaced with
a revised process for relevant cases. This revision was
introduced through Practice Direction 12B (Pilot) which is
annexed to pilot Practice Direction 36Z.
- There are two stages to the model, first is the information
gathering and assessment stage and followed by the interventions
and/or decisions hearing stage.
- The information gathering and assessment stage requires a
Child Impact Report (CIR) to be produced by Cafcass, Cafcass
Cymru or a local authority. This CIR presents an assessment of
the issues through engagement with parties, child(ren) and
relevant agencies which may include independent domestic abuse
agencies.
- In the second stage, the interventions and/or decisions
hearing, the court reviews the CIR and decides how to proceed
which may include ordering further investigations, interim orders
or holding a decisions hearing and making a final order.
- This rollout applies to the following courts: Aldershot,
Basingstoke, Newport (Isle of Wight), Portsmouth, Southampton,
and Winchester.
