Family Law News

Children’s charity the NSPCC has published a new report revealing that around 520,000 children are abused or neglected at home each year, but only one in nine are protected by local authorities.

Services to protect children are improving but the charity warns they will only ever reach a fraction of the children who are abused. It is therefore calling for a new approach focusing more on prevention as well as protection to close the gap.

It has launched the UK's first ever national child abuse tracker 'How Safe are our Children', setting out 19 indicators of child protection in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The NSPCC will now monitor progress against the indicators on a regular basis.

The report brings together a robust set of child protection data, giving a clear picture of how many children are being harmed in the UK.

"When we discover abuse we must do everything we can to protect children from further harm and help them recover. But it's vital to prevent abuse from happening to so many children in the first place,” Lisa Harker, NSPCC head of strategy, and one author of the report. “We need to shift policy across the UK towards early intervention - and set a new course that can stop cruelty blighting so many children's lives."

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.'

The definition of domestic violence has now been expanded to cover more victims. Young people aged 16 to 17 and coercive control – a pattern of controlling behaviour – are now included for the first time.

The new cross-government definition will raise awareness about the many types of domestic abuse that can ruin lives and encourage more people to seek help.

Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne said:

“Domestic violence is a devastating crime that can affect people of all ages. Abuse can be emotional as well as physical, and the government is determined to ensure all victims have the protection and support they need.

“That is why we are extending the definition of domestic violence to include 16 to 17-year-olds and coercive, or controlling, behaviour.

“The new definition makes it clear exactly what counts as abuse and will help adults and young people avoid unnecessary suffering.”

Sadly statistics show that 16-19 year old girls were the group most likely to suffer domestic abuse in the last year.

It is vital that victims, and those supporting them, are clear about what constitutes abuse so they seek the support they need at an early stage and do not suffer in silence.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.

According to National Family Mediation (NFM), the Relationships Foundation’s latest “Cost of Family Failure Index” has revealed that the cost of relationship breakdown and divorce is continuing to rise, and has now reached £46 billion a year (which works out at around a cost of £1,541 per taxpayer).

NFM reports that, speaking before the recent budget announcement, Michael Trend, Executive Director of the Foundation said:  “Next week’s budget will address the nation’s finances. It will consider how businesses can grow the economy. But the vital output of families will not be part of the accounts, nor the £46 billion cost of their failure which is unsustainable in any economic climate, let alone the current one.

“And the continuing upward movement of the cost of family failure (up from £37 billion in 2009) doesn’t even begin to take into account the often intense pain and suffering felt by those experiencing family failure – the broken hearts and the broken dreams. For example, it is simply not acceptable that, at present rates, only half the children born today are likely to live with both birth parents by the time they are 16.”

Family Justice Minister Lord McNally has called on mediators to lead the way in promoting out of court solutions to help separating families.

At a Family Mediation Council conference for practitioners in London, he said:

"My message to you as practitioners and supervisors is simple – your time is now – you now have a once in a generation opportunity to raise the profile of your profession, as a single and united profession."

The Government strongly supports mediation – a quicker, simpler and more effective way for separating couples to agree how they divide their assets or arrange child contact, which avoids the traumatic and divisive effect of courtroom battles.

The Ministry of Justice has announced it is committed to spending £25 million in the next year to support publicly-funded mediation and is behind new laws being created to ensure all separating couples must consider mediation before they can take their dispute to court.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.

The first ever study by the Crown Prosecution Service into so-called false allegations of rape and domestic violence has been published by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The report, which examines a 17-month period, shows that false allegations of rape and domestic violence are perhaps more rare than previously thought, and that in only a very small number of cases was it considered that there was sufficient evidence and that it was in the public interest to prosecute a person suspected of making a false allegation of rape or domestic violence.

This publication is part of a wider programme of work for the CPS to improve its handling of cases involving violence against women and girls.

During the period covered by the report, there were 111,891 prosecutions for domestic violence, but only six for making false allegations of domestic violence.

Keir Starmer QC said: "Victims of rape and domestic violence must not be deterred from reporting the abuse they have suffered. In recent years we have worked hard to dispel the damaging myths and stereotypes that are associated with these cases. One such misplaced belief is that false allegations of rape and domestic violence are rife. This report presents a more accurate picture.”

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.

A number of recent studies have looked into the impact of marital status on a person’s health. The findings from these studies have led researchers to draw a number of interesting conclusions.

Married people are healthier

According to a University of Missouri study, marriage has a positive impact on health, with married couples reporting better mental and physical health than their unmarried peers. In addition, married couples show fewer signs of developing chronic medical conditions than individuals who are divorced or widowed.

Interestingly, the study also found that as couples get older, they are more likely to feel positive about their health if they are in a happy marriage.

Couples should engage with their partner

This led key researcher, Christine Proulx, to conclude that married people suffering health problems might find it beneficial to work on improving the status of their marriage.

"We often think about the aging process as something we can treat medically with a pill or more exercise, but working on your marriage also might benefit your health as you age," explained Proulx.

"Engaging with your spouse is not going to cure cancer, but building stronger relationships can improve both people's spirits and well-being and lower their stress," she added.

The study looked at the long-term relationship between self-rated health and marital quality, and found that in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect the individuals’ health.

Proulx therefore advised that partners should be aware that how they treat each other and how happy they are in their marriages can have an impact on both partners’ health. She also suggested that her research could be of use to health professionals, who might find it beneficial to take into account patients’ personal relationships when designing treatment plans.

Same-sex couples

A different study has looked at how the health of same-sex cohabiting couples differs from that of married heterosexual couples.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that same-sex cohabiting couples reported having poorer levels of health compared to heterosexual married couples of similar socioeconomic status.

According to lead investigator, Hui Liu, this difference could be because same-sex couples don’t have access to the social, psychological and institutional resources that come with legal marriage. The high levels of stress experienced by same-sex couples as a result of homophobia and discrimination could also be a contributing factor.

Legalising same-sex marriage

Hui Liu acknowledged that the research did not directly assess the potential health consequences of legalising same-sex marriage, but commented that it was plausible that allowing same-sex couples to legally wed could improve their health.

“Legalising same-sex marriage,” Liu said, “could provide the benefits associated with marriage – such as partner health-insurance benefits and increased social and psychological support – which may directly and indirectly influence the health of people in same-sex unions.”

Latest statistics from the Forced Marriage Unit suggest young people aged between 16 and 25 are most at risk of being forced into marriage.

Foreign Office Minister for Consular Policy, Mark Simmonds, said:

“Forcing someone to marry is an appalling and indefensible practice which is why the Government is committed to eliminating it, with young people particularly vulnerable. We will use every means at our disposal, whether it’s engaging with schools and communities or through using mobiles and social media to reach potential victims. We want those who are worried about forced marriage to know that there is help out there.”

The Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1485 cases involving 60 different countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America last year.

Of the 744 cases where the age was known, over 600 of those involved were young people under the age of 26.

Separating couples are being urged to use mediation instead of ending up in courtroom battles after a list of England and Wales divorce hot spots was revealed.

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.

The Government has announced the introduction of new measures aimed at reducing delays in family court proceedings.

A Government commitment to open up marriage to same-sex couples has taken an important step forward with the publication of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.

Relate, the relationship support organisation, has launched a national awareness campaign targeting men. The campaign is aimed at encouraging men to seek support when they are going through divorce or separation, or other relationship breakdowns.

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

New measures are being put in place to support separating couples at the time of year when the number of people considering separation and divorce is at its peak.

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.

Same-sex couples in England and Wales are set to be allowed to marry, under plans unveiled by Minister for Women and Equalities Maria Miller.