MPs warn of delays to family courts

In a report published last week, the justice select committee said it was “not convinced the Ministry of Justice has fully appreciated the impact on court resources of many more unrepresented parties”.

The committee reported that there would be an increase in cases in which an alleged abuser cross-examines the person he or she is alleged to have abused. It recommended the Ministry consider allowing the court to recommend that legal aid be granted to provide a lawyer to conduct such a cross-examination.

There was a “consensus” among those giving evidence that litigants in person caused delays for a variety of reasons, including lack of procedural awareness, literacy, nerves and a desire to litigate every single issue of their case.

According to the government’s estimates, about 210,000 litigants in the family courts will no longer receive legal help and 53,800 will no longer receive representation as a result of the cuts to legal aid.

Sir Alan Beith MP, chair of the Justice select committee, said there would be “significantly more litigants in person following changes to legal aid.

“Courts are going to have to make adjustments to cope with more people representing themselves in what are often emotionally charged cases.”

The committee called on the Ministry to re-assess its prediction that only 10,000 extra mediations would be required, as this “seems low”.

Welcoming the report, Stephen Cobb QC, chairman of the Family Law Bar Association, said: “Cases take considerably longer without legal representation for all parties, at significant cost to the justice system.

“As the Bill Committee continues to hear evidence on the dangers of the government’s proposed legal aid reforms, it cannot ignore the growing body of expert opinion that it has not properly considered the consequences of these changes.”