Official family court statistics for January to March 2021, published last week, revealed 71,707 family cases were started, up seven per cent on the same quarter in 2020. The rise was due to a 29% increase in financial remedy, 15% rise in domestic violence, 5% rise in private law, 2% rise in matrimonial and 1% rise in adoption cases. The number of public law case starts decreased by 7%.
Care and supervision cases took an average of 43 weeks to include, up eight weeks on the same quarter in 2020, and well above the required 26 weeks. Only one in five cases were disposed of within 26 weeks, down 14% on the same period in 2020.
Nick Manners, partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said the figures were ‘further evidence that the family courts are close to breaking point.
‘It is a perfect storm with an increase in cases coming in at a time when the courts are struggling to cope due to funding cuts. As an adviser, we see daily that the delays cause significant and increased stress to families and couples who are seeking resolution through the courts for serious issues, particularly in cases involving domestic violence or challenging divorces.’
Susi Gillespie, partner at Thomas Mansfield Solicitors, said: ‘The average time frame from a petition to decree nisi is 27 weeks and from petition to decree absolute is 51 weeks. The time frame from petition to decree nisi is still too long.’
Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce called on the government to ‘maximise the existing court capacity, boosting it through Nightingale courts to allow more in person hearings to take place safely’ and ‘ensure so far as possible that there are sufficient fee-paid and full-time judges to deal with existing and new caseloads’.
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