Family Law News

Children at the centre of family law cases will face alarming uncertainty about their future as a result of a stalemate over the funding of expert witnesses in family cases, following a High Court ruling.

This is the claim of the Law Society, which has reacted with disappointment to a court ruling that the Legal Aid Agency – formerly the Legal Services Commission (LSC) – is not normally obliged to fully fund the cost of an expert witness report ordered by a judge in the family court where only the child is legally aided and the parents are unable to afford the costs of a report.

While the ruling acknowledges that there may be some cases where the rights of child would require the legal aid budget to pay, this would only arise 'in rare cases'.

The High Court judgment in the case of the R (JG) v The Legal Services Commission followed the LSC's refusal to pay more than one-third of an expert's fees, in a case in which the county court had previously determined that the parents were not able to pay the other two-thirds.

The LSC's decision was based on section 22 (4) of the Access to Justice Act which states that costs cannot be awarded against one party simply because they benefit from legal aid. The Law Society had intervened in the case to ensure that the court was aware of the difficulties that the LSC's decision was likely to cause.

Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said:

'The LSC's position simply results in deadlock. The court has first to decide that an expert report is necessary, not just desirable, to help it decide a child's future, but unless someone is able to pay – in this case the legal aid budget – there cannot be a report. The court's ruling does not address that impasse, and for that reason it is disappointing for those children who find themselves in the family courts.'

In February 2013, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) received a total of 3,998 new private law cases. This is a 5% increase on February 2012 levels.

From April 2012 onwards:

• Between April 2012 and February 2013 Cafcass received a total of 41,939 new private law cases. This figure shows an increase of 10.8% (4,072 cases) from the 37,867 cases received in the same period last year.
• October 2012 was the highest individual month ever recorded, with 4,369 cases.

April 2011-March 2012:

• During 2011-12, Cafcass received 41,827 new private law cases.
• This figure shows a decrease of 4.1% (1,803 cases) from the 43,630 cases received in 2010-11.
• In the first quarter demand fell sharply, in part due to the implementation of Practice Direction 3A of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, the aim of which is to resolve less complex cases away from the courts, through Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings.
• In the second half of 2011-12 new case demand had returned to and exceeded previous levels, with case demand in November, December, January, and February being the highest ever recorded by Cafcass for those individual months at that time.

New figures from the Fostering Network show that at least 9,000 new foster families are needed across the UK during 2013 to look after the record numbers of children in care who need to be fostered.

TACT, the fostering and adoption charity, has responded to the publication of the Children and Families Bill, seeing it as a missed opportunity.

Representatives of children and young people in England and Wales have spoken out about their experiences of the family justice system, and given suggestions on how the system can ensure its operations are as child-centred as possible.

Would-be adopters can now access a new map showing the areas with the highest number of children waiting for new homes.

The imposition of six month targets for placing children in care for adoption will lead to rushed and inadequate assessments, potentially making the process too fast for would-be adopters and open to abuse by predatory child abusers.

Councils must do more to ensure children awaiting adoption are not deprived of a loving permanent family because of council delays, children’s minister Edward Timpson has said.

A recent report has described the Government’s plans to amend the 1989 Children Act by introducing a presumption of shared parenting as well-intentioned but misguided.

Secretary of State Michael Gove has called on more people to adopt children. The call comes as it has emerged that more than 4200 children are ready for adoption but have not yet been able to move in with a family – a figure that has grown by 650 in each of the last two years.

The Fostering  Network has claimed that the current care system places too much emphasis on avoiding risk, and as a result is preventing foster carers from helping children in their care to have a full experience of family life.

New poll findings from YouGov commissioned by charities Grandparents Plus, the Family and Parenting Institute and Family Lives have revealed that 74% of adults in the North of England think grandparents and other relatives bringing up a child should receive practical help from their local council, and 63% think they should receive a financial allowance.

A recent Office for National Statistics publication has given details on the number of children in need in England during 2011-12.

A recently published report has revealed that levels of demand for child protection and care services continue to rise nationally, and a majority of directors fear that pressures will continue to rise in future years. Local authorities are having variable amounts of success in using early help services to reduce demand on child protection social workers.

Children from single parent families are growing up in poverty as successive governments fail to make work pay and tackle single parent unemployment, reports Gingerbread. The charity has launched a three-year campaign calling on the government to take action to help single parents escape unemployment and working poverty.

All EU Member States, with the exception of Belgium and Italy, have now ratified the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

Eight charities have joined forces to launch an inquiry into how best to provide stable and permanent homes for children in England who cannot live with their birth families.

Figures published by the Department for Education this week have revealed there are now more than 50,000 children living with foster families in England on any given day.

Adopting and fostering will become a faster and more efficient process thanks to new arrangements for approving carers, Children’s and Families Minister Edward Timpson has announced.

Recent research has detailed the costs of meeting the minimum basic needs of a child in 2012.